Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Ritzville faces less hazard damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Ritzville gets an A+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (66%), then wildfire (20%). Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1981.
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 Ritzville 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
Wildfire
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 Ritzville’s grade
River and rain flooding is 66% of the building damage FEMA expects in Ritzville, and Ritzville’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 91% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 20%, at a rate in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
A+ lower expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Ritzville’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $837K a year in losses across Ritzville: $467K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Ritzville flood? Rarely: 3 flood claims since 1981
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Ritzville, from FEMA’s records: 3.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 50% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Ritzville isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Adams County.The storms Ritzville remembers
None of the 6 disasters declared for Adams County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Ritzville itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19811 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 19931 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 20251 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Adams County has had 6 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 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Adams County, 2022–2022.
Old photos of Ritzville after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Ritzville archive →Get ready for what Ritzville 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.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- 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 Ritzville
Is Ritzville at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Ritzville has lower expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns: A+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (66%) and wildfire (20%). 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 Ritzville flood?
Flood insurance has paid 3 claims in Ritzville since 1981, $9K in all, or 3.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 50% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Ritzville 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 Adams County, 5% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Ritzville?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Ritzville’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Ritzville at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (66%), and Ritzville’s rate for it is lower than 91% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Ritzville.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Ritzville’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.