Storms, floods and disasters in Spangle
Spangle isn’t graded for hazard risk: Spangle has 322 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 8 claims here since 1979.
What Spangle 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
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 Spangle flood? Rarely: 8 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Spangle, from FEMA’s records.
Spangle isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Spokane County.The storms Spangle remembers
None of the 17 disasters declared for Spokane County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Spangle itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 20144 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 19791 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 19821 flood claims paidThe year of Threat of Flooding At Spirit Lake, declared for Spokane County
Spokane County has had 17 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 13 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Spokane County, 2008–2026.
Old photos of Spangle after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Spangle archive →Get ready for what Spangle 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.
- 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 Spangle
Does Spangle flood?
Flood insurance has paid 8 claims in Spangle since 1979, $277K in all. 2 properties have flooded more than once.
Is Spangle 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 Spokane County, 16% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Spangle?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Spangle’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Spangle.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Spangle’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.