Berwind-Purcell House · Photo: Jon Roanhaus · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA puts Longview Heights’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 85% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Longview Heights gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 85% of U.S. towns, #204 of 285 in Washington. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (53%), then earthquakes (44%). 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 Longview Heights faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Earthquakes
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 Longview Heights’ grade
River and rain flooding is 53% of the building damage FEMA expects in Longview Heights, and Longview Heights’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 77% of U.S. census tracts. Volcanic activity adds 2%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
C− #204 of 285 in Washington; higher expected damage per building than 85% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Longview Heights’ residents live in 3 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Washington town has higher expected damage than 76% of U.S. towns; within the state, Longview Heights has more expected damage per building than 71% of Washington towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.3M a year in losses across Longview Heights: $1.4M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Longview Heights flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Longview Heights. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Longview Heights isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Cowlitz County.The storms Longview Heights remembers
None of the 20 disasters declared for Cowlitz County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Longview Heights itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Cowlitz County has had 20 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Longview Heights and its neighbors
Longview Heights has the lowest expected damage per building of the 3 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Longview Heights | C−more damage than 85% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Longview | C−more damage than 85% | earthquakes | 22 |
| Beacon Hill | Dmore damage than 85% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Longview Heights faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Longview Heights
Is Longview Heights at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Longview Heights has higher expected damage per building than 85% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk, #204 of 285 in Washington. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (53%) and earthquakes (44%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Longview Heights 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 Cowlitz County, 31% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 2.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Longview Heights?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Longview Heights’ flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Longview Heights at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (53%), and Longview Heights’ rate for it is higher than 77% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Longview Heights.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Longview Heights’ 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.