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C−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Wauna · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Wauna faces more hazard damage per building than 79% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Wauna gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 79% of U.S. towns, #162 of 285 in Washington. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (62%), then river and rain flooding (35%). Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 2007.

Earthquakes 62%River and rain flooding 35%Coastal flooding 3%

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 79%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#162 of 285 in Washington
Hazard risk
C−#162 of 285
in Washington · higher than 79% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Earthquakes
62% of expected building damage
Flood claims
3
paid since 2007 · $13K
Flood claims per home
2 per 1,000
fewer than 68% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Wauna faces

Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.

Earthquakes

62%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts

River and rain flooding

35%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 64% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 9 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Coastal flooding top 3% Tornadoes Strong wind Ice storms Hail Wildfire Winter storms Heat waves Landslides Lightning Tsunamis top 1% Volcanic activity top 3%
FEMA models no building damage here
HurricanesCold wavesAvalanches

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 Wauna’s grade

Earthquakes are 62% of the building damage FEMA expects in Wauna, and Wauna’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 3%, at a rate in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Wauna sits
Wauna
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C− #162 of 285 in Washington; higher expected damage per building than 79% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
Earthquakes62%River and rain flooding35%Coastal flooding3%

The typical Washington town has higher expected damage than 76% of U.S. towns; within the state, Wauna has more expected damage per building than 57% of Washington towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.9M a year in losses across Wauna: $1.4M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Wauna’s 4,421 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 Wauna flood? Rarely: 3 flood claims since 2007

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Wauna, from FEMA’s records: 1.6 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 68% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2007: 1 claim2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 1 claim2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 1 claim2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims200720122022
20072026
Biggest named events
  • The Winter storm1 claim · $3K
3
paid claims since 2007
$13K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$4K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Wauna 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 Wauna remembers

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

  1. 20071 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
  2. 20121 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Winter Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, declared for Pierce County
  3. 20221 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in WaunaPierce 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.

Were you here?

Old photos of Wauna after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Wauna archive →
Next door

Wauna and its neighbors

Wauna has the lowest expected damage per building of the 3 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Stansberry Lake: hazard risk DKey Center: hazard risk DStansberry LakeKey CenterWauna
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
WaunaC−more damage than 79%earthquakes3
Stansberry LakeDmore damage than 86%earthquakes—
Key CenterDmore damage than 87%earthquakes3

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 Wauna faces

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

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 ↗
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 ↗
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 Wauna

Is Wauna at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Wauna has higher expected damage per building than 79% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk, #162 of 285 in Washington. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (62%) and river and rain flooding (35%). 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 Wauna flood?

Flood insurance has paid 3 claims in Wauna since 2007, $13K in all, or 1.6 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 68% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Winter storm (1).

Is Wauna 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 Wauna?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Wauna’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 Wauna?

By flood claims, Winter storm: 1 paid, $3K.

Is Wauna at risk from earthquakes?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (62%), and Wauna’s rate for it is in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Wauna.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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