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C−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Zillah · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Zillah faces more hazard damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Zillah gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns, #178 of 285 in Washington. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (79%), then earthquakes (18%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 79%Earthquakes 18%Wildfire 2%

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 82%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#178 of 285 in Washington
Hazard risk
C−#178 of 285
in Washington · higher than 82% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
79% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 19 declared for Yakima County
By hazard

What Zillah 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

79%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

18%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Wildfire Strong wind Tornadoes Lightning Hail Winter storms Ice storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides Volcanic activity top 0%
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamis
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 12% of Zillah’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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 Zillah’s grade

River and rain flooding is 79% of the building damage FEMA expects in Zillah, and Zillah’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 86% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 2%, at a rate in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Zillah sits
Zillah
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C− #178 of 285 in Washington; higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding79%Earthquakes18%Everything else2%

The typical Washington town has higher expected damage than 76% of U.S. towns; within the state, Zillah has more expected damage per building than 62% of Washington towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.9M a year in losses across Zillah: $1.5M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Zillah’s 3,179 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 Zillah flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Zillah. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Zillah 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.
Disasters

The storms Zillah remembers

None of the 19 disasters declared for Yakima County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Zillah itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in ZillahYakima County only

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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Zillah faces

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

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 ↗
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 ↗
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 Zillah

Is Zillah at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Zillah has higher expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk, #178 of 285 in Washington. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (79%) and earthquakes (18%). 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 Zillah 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 Zillah?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Zillah’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

Is Zillah at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (79%), and Zillah’s rate for it is higher than 86% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Zillah.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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