Photo: Turtleey · CC BY-SA 4.0FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Ruston than in 86% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Ruston gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (80%), then river and rain flooding (19%). 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 Ruston 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 Ruston’s grade
Earthquakes are 80% of the building damage FEMA expects in Ruston, and Ruston’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 1%, at a rate in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Ruston’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $648K a year in losses across Ruston: $412K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Ruston flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Ruston. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Ruston isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Pierce County.2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Ruston
Disasters that paid out in Ruston itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Ruston), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2009Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, Mudslides, and Flooding1 households applied for aid$221 aid approved
- 2006Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, and Mudslides$2K to the City of Ruston for repairs
Pierce County has had 21 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 Pierce County, 2020–2020.
Old photos of Ruston after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Ruston archive →Get ready for what Ruston 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 Ruston
Is Ruston at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Ruston has higher expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (80%) and river and rain flooding (19%). 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.
Is Ruston 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 Pierce County, 44% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.7% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Ruston?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Ruston’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 Ruston?
By FEMA money that reached Ruston, Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, and Mudslides (2006): $2K to the City of Ruston for repairs.
Is Ruston at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (80%), and Ruston’s rate for it is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Ruston.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Ruston’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.