Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Yakima than in 79% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Yakima gets an A− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 79% of U.S. towns, #22 of 285 in Washington. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (59%), then earthquakes (34%). Flood insurance has paid 10 claims here since 1980.
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 Yakima’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Yakima 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 Yakima’s grade
River and rain flooding is 59% of the building damage FEMA expects in Yakima, and Yakima’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 77% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 7%, at a rate in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.
A− #22 of 285 in Washington; lower expected damage per building than 79% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Yakima’s residents live in 28 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, Yakima has less expected damage per building than 93% of Washington towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $24.9M a year in losses across Yakima: $15.8M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Yakima flood? Sometimes: 10 flood claims since 1980
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Yakima, from FEMA’s records: 0.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 96% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Yakima 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.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Yakima
Disasters that paid out in Yakima itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Yakima), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2008Severe Winter Storm and Record and Near Record Snow$82K to the City of Yakima for repairs
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 Yakima after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Yakima archive →Yakima and its neighbors
Yakima has the lowest expected damage per building of the 6 graded towns here. 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 |
| Selah | B+less damage than 66% | river and rain flooding | 36 |
| Terrace Heights | Bless damage than 64% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
| Union Gap | C+more damage than 65% | earthquakes | 3 |
| Ahtanum | C−more damage than 83% | river and rain flooding | 4 |
| Summitview | C−more damage than 84% | wildfire | 1 |
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 Yakima 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 Yakima
Is Yakima at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Yakima has lower expected damage per building than 79% of U.S. towns: A− for hazard risk, #22 of 285 in Washington. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (59%) and earthquakes (34%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Yakima flood?
Flood insurance has paid 10 claims in Yakima since 1980, $238K in all, or 0.3 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 96% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 1 properties have flooded more than once.
Is Yakima 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 Yakima?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Yakima’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 Yakima?
By FEMA money that reached Yakima, Severe Winter Storm and Record and Near Record Snow (2008): $82K to the City of Yakima for repairs.
Is Yakima at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (59%), and Yakima’s rate for it is lower than 77% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Yakima.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Yakima’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.