Photo: Will Maupin · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Millwood faces less hazard damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Millwood gets an A+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (93%). 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 Millwood 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 Millwood’s grade
River and rain flooding is 93% of the building damage FEMA expects in Millwood, and Millwood’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 80% of U.S. census tracts. Next is earthquakes at 5% (lower than 56% of U.S. census tracts).
A+ lower expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Millwood’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $323K a year in losses across Millwood: $203K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Millwood flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Millwood. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Millwood isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Spokane County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Millwood
Disasters that paid out in Millwood itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Millwood), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2015Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$8K to the City of Millwood for repairs
Spokane County has had 17 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.
Also 13 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Spokane County, 2008–2026.
Old photos of Millwood after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Millwood archive →Millwood and its neighbors
Millwood has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Millwood | A+less damage than 98% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Spokane Valley | A+less damage than 97% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
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 Millwood 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 Millwood
Is Millwood at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Millwood has lower expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns: A+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (93%) and earthquakes (5%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Millwood 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 Spokane County, 16% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Millwood?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Millwood’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Millwood?
By FEMA money that reached Millwood, Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2015): $8K to the City of Millwood for repairs.
Is Millwood at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (93%), and Millwood’s rate for it is lower than 80% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Millwood.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Millwood’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.