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C−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in South Creek · FEMA

More hazard damage per building is expected in South Creek than in 81% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, South Creek gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 81% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (53%), then earthquakes (46%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 53%Earthquakes 46%

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

more than 81%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C−
in Washington · higher than 81% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
53% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 21 declared for Pierce County
By hazard

What South Creek 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

53%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Earthquakes

46%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Strong wind Tornadoes Ice storms Hail Wildfire Winter storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides Lightning Volcanic activity top 1%
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamis
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 17% of South Creek’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind South Creek’s grade

River and rain flooding is 53% of the building damage FEMA expects in South Creek, and South Creek’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 68% of U.S. census tracts. Next is earthquakes at 46% (higher than 90% of U.S. census tracts).

Where South Creek sits
South Creek
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C− higher expected damage per building than 81% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of South Creek’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding53%Earthquakes46%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.1M a year in losses across South Creek: $710K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of South Creek’s 2,519 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does South Creek flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in South Creek. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

South Creek 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.
Disasters

The storms South Creek remembers

None of the 21 disasters declared for Pierce County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching South Creek itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in South CreekPierce County only

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.

Next door

South Creek and its neighbors

South Creek is 3rd of the 3 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Elk Plain: hazard risk C+Graham: hazard risk C+Elk PlainGrahamSouth Creek
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Elk PlainC+more damage than 62%earthquakes—
GrahamC+more damage than 65%earthquakes—
South CreekC−more damage than 81%river and rain flooding0

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.

Be ready

Get ready for what South Creek faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Earthquakes
  • Drop, cover and hold on.
  • Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
  • Know how to shut off the gas.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in South Creek

Is South Creek at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, South Creek has higher expected damage per building than 81% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (53%) and earthquakes (46%). 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 South Creek 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 South Creek?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for South Creek’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

Is South Creek at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (53%), and South Creek’s rate for it is higher than 68% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in South Creek.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where South Creek’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.