Photo: Akerr · CC BY-SA 3.0On FEMA’s figures, Port Ludlow faces more hazard damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Port Ludlow gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns, #107 of 285 in Washington. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (55%), then river and rain flooding (39%). 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 Port Ludlow 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
Coastal 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 Port Ludlow’s grade
Earthquakes are 55% of the building damage FEMA expects in Port Ludlow, and Port Ludlow’s rate of earthquakes damage is higher than 90% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 5%, at a rate in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.
C #107 of 285 in Washington; higher expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Port Ludlow’s residents live in 2 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, Port Ludlow has less expected damage per building than 63% of Washington towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.3M a year in losses across Port Ludlow: $1.1M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Port Ludlow flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Port Ludlow. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Port Ludlow isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Jefferson County.The storms Port Ludlow remembers
None of the 25 disasters declared for Jefferson County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Port Ludlow itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Jefferson County has had 25 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.
Port Ludlow and its neighbors
Port Ludlow 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Port Ludlow | Cmore damage than 70% | earthquakes | 0 |
| Hansville | C−more damage than 77% | earthquakes | — |
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 Port Ludlow 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.
- Know your evacuation zone and the way off the coast.
- Storm surge comes fast: leave when you’re told, not when the water arrives.
- Move cars to high ground before king tides and nor’easters.
- 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 Port Ludlow
Is Port Ludlow at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Port Ludlow has higher expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk, #107 of 285 in Washington. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (55%) and river and rain flooding (39%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Port Ludlow 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 Jefferson County, 17% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Port Ludlow?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Port Ludlow’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Port Ludlow at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (55%), and Port Ludlow’s rate for it is higher than 90% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Port Ludlow.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Port Ludlow’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.