Schafer State Park · Photo: Jon Roanhaus · CC BY-SA 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Satsop
Satsop isn’t graded for hazard risk: Satsop has 780 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Satsop 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 Satsop flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Satsop. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Satsop 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 Satsop
Disasters that paid out in Satsop itself (aid to households or repair grants to Satsop), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2007Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides2 households applied for aid$946 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 Satsop after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Satsop archive →Satsop 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elma | Dmore damage than 94% | earthquakes | 20 |
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 Satsop 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 Satsop
Is Satsop 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 Satsop?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Satsop’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 Satsop?
By FEMA money that reached Satsop, Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2007): 2 households applied for aid, $946 approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Satsop.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Satsop’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.