Photo: Photo taken by Price around the turn of the 20th century. · Public domainStorms, floods and disasters in Porter
Porter isn’t graded for hazard risk: Porter has 155 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Porter 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.
Does Porter flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Porter. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Porter isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Grays Harbor County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Porter
Disasters that paid out in Porter itself (aid to households or repair grants to Porter), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2009Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, Mudslides, and Flooding1 households applied for aid$984 aid approved
Grays Harbor County has had 30 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.
Old photos of Porter after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Porter archive →Porter and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malone | — | 518 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
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 Porter 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 Porter
Is Porter 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 Grays Harbor County, 19% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 4.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Porter?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Porter’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 Porter?
By FEMA money that reached Porter, Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, Mudslides, and Flooding (2009): 1 households applied for aid, $984 approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Porter.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Porter’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.