Photo: Yuet Man Lee · CC BY-SA 4.0Less hazard damage per building is expected in Point Roberts than in 68% of U.S. towns, led by earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Point Roberts gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (49%), then river and rain flooding (48%). Flood insurance has paid 23 claims here since 1982.
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 stands out about Point Roberts’ natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Point Roberts 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 Point Roberts’ grade
Earthquakes are 49% of the building damage FEMA expects in Point Roberts, and Point Roberts’ rate of earthquakes damage is higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 1%, at a rate in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
B+ lower expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Point Roberts’ residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $716K a year in losses across Point Roberts: $598K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Point Roberts flood? Sometimes: 23 flood claims since 1982
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Point Roberts, from FEMA’s records: 10.9 per 1,000 homes, more than 75% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Point Roberts isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Whatcom County.2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Point Roberts
Disasters that paid out in Point Roberts itself (aid to households or repair grants to Point Roberts), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2025Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides1 households applied for aid$1K aid approved
- 2021Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides3 households applied for aid$11K aid approved
Whatcom County has had 21 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.
Also 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Whatcom County, 2015–2015.
Old photos of Point Roberts after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Point Roberts archive →Get ready for what Point Roberts 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 Point Roberts
Is Point Roberts at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Point Roberts has lower expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (49%) and river and rain flooding (48%). 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.
Does Point Roberts flood?
Flood insurance has paid 23 claims in Point Roberts since 1982, $418K in all, or 10.9 per 1,000 homes, more than 75% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Point Roberts 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 Whatcom County, 29% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.9% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Point Roberts?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Point Roberts’ 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 Point Roberts?
By FEMA money that reached Point Roberts, Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2021): 3 households applied for aid, $11K approved.
Is Point Roberts at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (49%), and Point Roberts’ rate for it is higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Point Roberts.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Point Roberts’ 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.