Photo: Konrad Roeder · CC BY-SA 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Skykomish
Skykomish isn’t graded for hazard risk: Skykomish has 92 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 26 claims here since 1980.
What Skykomish 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
Landslides
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 Skykomish flood? Sometimes: 26 flood claims since 1980
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Skykomish, from FEMA’s records.
- The Torrential rain9 claims · $234K
- The 2025-12-AtmosphericRiver3 claims · $27K
Skykomish isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: King County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Skykomish
Disasters that paid out in Skykomish itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Skykomish), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2025Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides9 households applied for aid$118K aid approved3 flood claims paid that year
- 2009Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, Mudslides, and Flooding2 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
- 2006Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides25 households applied for aid$52K aid approved9 flood claims paid that year
King 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.
Also 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in King County, 2022–2022.
Old photos of Skykomish after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Skykomish archive →Get ready for what Skykomish 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.
- Watch for new cracks, tilting trees or suddenly muddy streams after heavy rain.
- Stay off steep slopes in a downpour.
- Leave if you hear rumbling upslope.
- 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 Skykomish
Does Skykomish flood?
Flood insurance has paid 26 claims in Skykomish since 1980, $402K in all. 4 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Torrential rain (9).
Is Skykomish 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 King County, 44% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Skykomish?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Skykomish’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 Skykomish?
By FEMA money that reached Skykomish, Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2025): 9 households applied for aid, $118K approved. By flood claims, Torrential rain: 9 paid, $234K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Skykomish.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Skykomish’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.