Photo: DKRKaynor · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Waitsburg faces more hazard damage per building than 87% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Waitsburg gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 87% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (85%). Flood insurance has paid 45 claims here since 1982.
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 stands out about Waitsburg’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Waitsburg 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 Waitsburg’s grade
River and rain flooding is 85% of the building damage FEMA expects in Waitsburg, and Waitsburg’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 6%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 87% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Waitsburg’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $679K a year in losses across Waitsburg: $538K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Waitsburg flood? Sometimes: 45 flood claims since 1982
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Waitsburg, from FEMA’s records: 91.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 96% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Waitsburg isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Walla Walla County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Waitsburg
Disasters that paid out in Waitsburg itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Waitsburg), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2020Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$388K to the City of Waitsburg for repairs16 flood claims paid that year
Walla Walla County has had 8 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 2 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Walla Walla County, 2006–2015.
Old photos of Waitsburg after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Waitsburg archive →Get ready for what Waitsburg 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 Waitsburg
Is Waitsburg at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Waitsburg has higher expected damage per building than 87% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (85%) and earthquakes (7%). 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.
Does Waitsburg flood?
Flood insurance has paid 45 claims in Waitsburg since 1982, $929K in all, or 91.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 96% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 2 properties have flooded more than once.
Is Waitsburg 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 Walla Walla County, 0.7% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Waitsburg?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Waitsburg’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 Waitsburg?
By FEMA money that reached Waitsburg, Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2020): $388K to the City of Waitsburg for repairs.
Is Waitsburg at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (85%), and Waitsburg’s rate for it is in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Waitsburg.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Waitsburg’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.