Photo: Frank Schulenburg · CC BY-SA 4.0FEMA expects about as much hazard damage per building in Langley as in the typical U.S. town, mostly from earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Langley gets a B− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 52% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (68%), then river and rain flooding (29%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What Langley faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Earthquakes
River and rain flooding
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
What’s behind Langley’s grade
Earthquakes are 68% of the building damage FEMA expects in Langley, and Langley’s rate of earthquakes damage is higher than 89% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 1%, at a rate in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
B− higher expected damage per building than 52% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Langley’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $672K a year in losses across Langley: $430K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Langley flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Langley. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Langley isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Island County.The storms Langley remembers
None of the 19 disasters declared for Island County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Langley itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Island County has had 19 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Get ready for what Langley faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Langley
Is Langley at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Langley has higher expected damage per building than 52% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (68%) and river and rain flooding (29%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Langley in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Island County, 30% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 2.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Langley?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Langley’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Langley at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (68%), and Langley’s rate for it is higher than 89% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Langley.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Langley’s residents lived in the 2020 census; OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.