For wildfire, Terrace Heights’s building-damage rate is in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Terrace Heights gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 64% of U.S. towns, #32 of 285 in Washington. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (68%), then earthquakes (18%). Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1981.
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 Terrace Heights 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
Wildfire
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 Terrace Heights’ grade
River and rain flooding is 68% of the building damage FEMA expects in Terrace Heights, and Terrace Heights’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 58% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 13%, at a rate in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
B #32 of 285 in Washington; lower expected damage per building than 64% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Terrace Heights’ residents live in 3 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Washington town has higher expected damage than 76% of U.S. towns; within the state, Terrace Heights has less expected damage per building than 89% of Washington towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $3.3M a year in losses across Terrace Heights: $2.1M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Terrace Heights flood? Rarely: 3 flood claims since 1981
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Terrace Heights, from FEMA’s records: 0.7 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 85% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Terrace Heights isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Yakima County.The storms Terrace Heights remembers
None of the 19 disasters declared for Yakima County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Terrace Heights itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19962 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Winter Storms, Land and Muds Slides,flooding, declared for Yakima County
- 19811 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Yakima County has had 19 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 16 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Yakima County, 2000–2026.
Old photos of Terrace Heights after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Terrace Heights archive →Terrace Heights and its neighbors
Terrace Heights 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yakima | A−less damage than 79% | river and rain flooding | 10 |
| Terrace Heights | Bless damage than 64% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
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 Terrace Heights 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.
- 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.
- 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 Terrace Heights
Is Terrace Heights at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Terrace Heights has lower expected damage per building than 64% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk, #32 of 285 in Washington. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (68%) and earthquakes (18%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Terrace Heights flood?
Flood insurance has paid 3 claims in Terrace Heights since 1981, $6K in all, or 0.7 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 85% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Terrace Heights 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 Yakima County, 16% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.9% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Terrace Heights?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Terrace Heights’ flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Terrace Heights at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (68%), and Terrace Heights’ rate for it is lower than 58% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Terrace Heights.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Terrace Heights’ 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.