Photo: Flytzjl93 · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Roslyn
Roslyn isn’t graded for hazard risk: FEMA’s tract figures aren’t matched to Roslyn yet.
What Roslyn faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Wildfire
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 Roslyn flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Roslyn. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Roslyn isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Kittitas County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Roslyn
Disasters that paid out in Roslyn itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Roslyn), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2025Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$534K to the City of Roslyn for repairs
- 2009Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, Mudslides, and Flooding19 households applied for aid$24K aid approved$56K to the City of Roslyn for repairs
- 2008Severe Winter Storm and Record and Near Record Snow$4K to the City of Roslyn for repairs
Kittitas 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 8 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Kittitas County, 2004–2018.
Old photos of Roslyn after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Roslyn archive →Get ready for what Roslyn faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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 Roslyn
Is Roslyn 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 Kittitas County, 2.3% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Roslyn?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Roslyn’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 Roslyn?
By FEMA money that reached Roslyn, Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2025): $534K to the City of Roslyn for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Roslyn.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Roslyn’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.