Photo: Jelson25 · Public domainOn FEMA’s figures, Whidbey Island Station faces more hazard damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Whidbey Island Station gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (89%), then river and rain flooding (11%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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 Whidbey Island Station faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Earthquakes
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.
What’s behind Whidbey Island Station’s grade
Earthquakes are 89% of the building damage FEMA expects in Whidbey Island Station, and Whidbey Island Station’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 11% (lower than 96% of U.S. census tracts).
D higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Whidbey Island Station’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.5M a year in losses across Whidbey Island Station: $1.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Whidbey Island Station flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Whidbey Island Station. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Whidbey Island Station isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Island County.The storms Whidbey Island Station remembers
None of the 19 disasters declared for Island County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Whidbey Island Station itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Island 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.
Whidbey Island Station and its neighbors
Whidbey Island Station 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oak Harbor | C+more damage than 56% | earthquakes | 5 |
| Whidbey Island Station | Dmore damage than 92% | earthquakes | 0 |
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 Whidbey Island Station faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Whidbey Island Station
Is Whidbey Island Station at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Whidbey Island Station has higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (89%) and river and rain flooding (11%). 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 Whidbey Island Station 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 Island County, 30% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 2.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Whidbey Island Station?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Whidbey Island Station’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Whidbey Island Station at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (89%), and Whidbey Island Station’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Whidbey Island Station.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Whidbey Island Station’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.