Photo: Steven Pavlov · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Soap Lake than in 68% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Soap Lake gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (77%), then wildfire (17%). 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 Soap Lake 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 Soap Lake’s grade
River and rain flooding is 77% of the building damage FEMA expects in Soap Lake, and Soap Lake’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 76% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 17%, at a rate in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.
C higher expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Soap Lake’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $534K a year in losses across Soap Lake: $419K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Soap Lake flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Soap Lake. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Soap Lake isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Grant County.The storms Soap Lake remembers
None of the 5 disasters declared for Grant County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Soap Lake itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Grant County has had 5 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 4 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Grant County, 2012–2023.
Soap Lake and its neighbors
Soap Lake is 2nd of the 2 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeview | Cmore damage than 68% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Soap Lake | Cmore damage than 68% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
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 Soap Lake 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 Soap Lake
Is Soap Lake at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Soap Lake has higher expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (77%) and wildfire (17%). 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 Soap Lake 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 Grant County, 18% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Soap Lake?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Soap Lake’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Soap Lake at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (77%), and Soap Lake’s rate for it is higher than 76% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Soap Lake.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Soap Lake’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.