FEMA declarations
215
Very high volume
State profile · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Washington Natural Disasters
Washington sits among the states with the heaviest federal disaster burden. 215 FEMA disaster declarations are on record, led by fire, with $3.3B in combined property and crop damage. That cumulative volume does not isolate physical hazard frequency from declaration policy, program use, or population exposure. NOAA storm event data shows 4,408 recorded weather events resulting in 96 fatalities, numbers that shape which hazards get priority in the state's preparedness planning.
- 215
- FEMA declarations
- 4,408
- NOAA storm events
- 96
- Storm fatalities
- $3.3B
- Property + crop damage
The Washington risk picture
5 of the 39 counties FEMA scores, 13%, carry a FEMA "high-risk" National Risk Index rating, with earthquake the single largest driver of expected annual loss statewide. Washington has 68 Major Disaster (DR) declarations; FEMA authorizes Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, or both separately for each declaration. NOAA-tracked storms have caused 148 injuries statewide.
- 13%
- of counties rated high-risk by FEMA National Risk Index
- 215
- FEMA disaster declarations on record
- $3.3B
- in tracked property + crop damage
- 15,927
- NFIP flood insurance claims filed statewide
FEMA's National Risk Index and NOAA's Storm Events Database measure different things: modeled long-run risk vs. observed severe-weather events. Storm Events is a reported dataset, so its counts track what was observed and logged, not every event that occurred, and reporting is denser where more people live. See the methodology for how they relate.
Major Disaster share
32%
Mixed major share
NOAA storm events
4,408
Observed severe-weather records
How does Washington compare?
Washington vs. every U.S. state
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
215 Top 7% higher than 93% of 59 states and territories
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states and territories. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 · 2026-08-25
Washington county risk-score spread
FEMA National Risk Index composite scores, 0–100
70 36th percentile higher than 36% of 39 county composite scores
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more county composite scores. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source FEMA National Risk Index (NRI), county composite scores · 2026-08-25
The declaration chart counts past federal actions. The county score chart summarizes FEMA's modeled National Risk Index composite; it is not a forecast, and a state average does not describe every county.
Do more storms mean more federal disasters?
Washington sits at the 93rd percentile of FEMA declaration volume and the 22nd percentile of NOAA storm-event volume among 55 states and territories, those two ranks are not interchangeable.
FEMA declaration rank vs NOAA storm-event rank
Read the chart, every state as text
Percentiles are within this release's state/territory sample. Raw counts are the underlying FEMA and NOAA totals.
| State | FEMA decls | FEMA %ile | NOAA storms | NOAA %ile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 396 | 98 | 23,694 | 93 |
| Texas | 389 | 96 | 53,309 | 98 |
| Oklahoma | 258 | 95 | 23,896 | 95 |
| Washington | 215 | 93 | 4,408 | 22 |
| Florida | 188 | 91 | 12,838 | 55 |
| Oregon | 169 | 89 | 3,695 | 20 |
| New Mexico | 126 | 87 | 10,974 | 45 |
| Arizona | 120 | 85 | 9,541 | 38 |
| New York | 118 | 84 | 21,653 | 82 |
| Montana | 112 | 82 | 13,576 | 56 |
| Colorado | 111 | 78 | 18,340 | 73 |
| Louisiana | 111 | 78 | 11,204 | 47 |
| Nevada | 110 | 76 | 4,534 | 24 |
| Alabama | 102 | 75 | 14,583 | 64 |
| Kentucky | 98 | 71 | 19,947 | 78 |
| Mississippi | 98 | 71 | 14,100 | 62 |
| Tennessee | 97 | 69 | 16,645 | 69 |
| South Dakota | 96 | 67 | 22,759 | 87 |
| Alaska | 94 | 64 | 2,683 | 15 |
| Kansas | 94 | 64 | 25,115 | 96 |
| Arkansas | 87 | 60 | 13,637 | 58 |
| Nebraska | 87 | 60 | 20,136 | 80 |
| Missouri | 86 | 58 | 22,952 | 89 |
| North Carolina | 85 | 56 | 16,367 | 67 |
| West Virginia | 84 | 55 | 12,026 | 49 |
| Georgia | 81 | 51 | 16,676 | 71 |
| Minnesota | 81 | 51 | 19,109 | 75 |
| Iowa | 78 | 49 | 21,883 | 84 |
| Virginia | 77 | 47 | 23,584 | 91 |
| North Dakota | 75 | 45 | 10,818 | 44 |
| Hawaii | 72 | 44 | 6,200 | 31 |
| Maine | 71 | 42 | 4,781 | 27 |
| Illinois | 68 | 40 | 22,088 | 85 |
| Pennsylvania | 64 | 38 | 19,427 | 76 |
| New Hampshire | 63 | 36 | 2,547 | 11 |
| Vermont | 62 | 35 | 3,449 | 18 |
| Idaho | 60 | 31 | 5,142 | 29 |
| Ohio | 60 | 31 | 16,184 | 65 |
| Massachusetts | 59 | 25 | 6,781 | 33 |
| New Jersey | 59 | 25 | 8,218 | 35 |
| Utah | 59 | 25 | 4,578 | 25 |
| Wisconsin | 56 | 24 | 13,807 | 60 |
| Indiana | 54 | 22 | 12,687 | 53 |
| Puerto Rico | 51 | 18 | 2,944 | 16 |
| South Carolina | 51 | 18 | 10,520 | 42 |
| Michigan | 46 | 16 | 9,052 | 36 |
| Wyoming | 45 | 15 | 12,494 | 51 |
| Connecticut | 43 | 13 | 2,622 | 13 |
| Maryland | 38 | 11 | 10,290 | 40 |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | 33 | 9 | 88 | 0 |
| Rhode Island | 31 | 7 | 924 | 7 |
| Delaware | 26 | 5 | 1,475 | 9 |
| Guam | 25 | 4 | 258 | 2 |
| District of Columbia | 24 | 2 | 452 | 5 |
| American Samoa | 17 | 0 | 292 | 4 |
What shapes Washington's record?
FEMA declaration types in Washington
Wider bars = more declarations of that incident type
- Fire
Fire
147 declarations
- Flood 35
Flood
35 declarations
- Severe Storm 20
Severe Storm
20 declarations
- Biological 3
Biological
3 declarations
- Mud/Landslide 3
Mud/Landslide
3 declarations
- Earthquake 2
Earthquake
2 declarations
- Coastal Storm 1
Coastal Storm
1 declarations
- Drought 1
Drought
1 declarations
What this shows Fire leads Washington's FEMA declaration mix with 147 records among the types shown.
NOAA storm events by year in Washington
Reported severe-weather events, 2015-2025 catalog window
Peak year in this series: 2017 (546 events). Counts are reported events, not a complete census.
80 /100
Historical Activity Index
Very High historical activity
Washington · PlainHazard-derived composite from federal records
This 0–100 index is an explicit PlainHazard composite mixing OpenFEMA declaration totals (1953–present) with NOAA Storm Events (2015–2025), different windows and event definitions, disclosed weights on the methodology page . It is not FEMA's National Risk Index, not a forecast, and not a safety, insurance, or preparedness rating. Open the calculator · Methodology
FEMA Declarations (1953–present) Very High
30/30
215 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (2.4x state average)
NOAA Storm Events (2015–2025) Low
5/25
4408 NOAA storm events in the 2015–2025 extract (0.4x median state)
NOAA Damage (2015–2025) Very High
25/25
Recorded NOAA property+crop damage in the 2015–2025 extract (5.8x median state)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
11 different disaster types declared in Washington
What does Washington's hazard record show?
FEMA disaster declarations
Washington (WA) has a very high level of federal declaration activity, with 215 FEMA declaration records, including 68 Major Disaster declarations (DR). A DR may authorize Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, or both; those program approvals are not implied by the DR count. The dominant declaration type is Fire, followed by Flood (35), Severe Storm (20), Biological (3). Declaration counts at the state level reflect the cumulative federal footprint: large multi-county events count once per state, but repeat hazard patterns across decades are visible in the breakdown below.
Flood exposure & where to dig deeper
Flood exposure is quantified separately through the National Flood Insurance Program. Policyholders across 39Washington counties have filed 15,927 NFIP claims totaling $365.4M, or an average of $22.9K per claim. NFIP data captures only insured flood losses, so uninsured flood damage and storm-surge losses outside mapped high-risk zones remain invisible in this figure. The highest-Expected-Annual-Loss hazard across the state is Earthquake, estimated at $2.5B annually. Drill into individual counties for localized risk, read FEMA's hazard-specific briefings, and review insurance and flood-zone designations, state-level averages can mask sharp county-to-county differences in exposure and resilience.
NOAA storm events & FEMA National Risk Index
NOAA's Storm Events Database adds the near-term severe-weather lens. Between 2015 and 2025, Washington recorded 4,408 individual storm events, causing 96 fatalities and 148 injuries, with combined property and crop damage estimated at $3.3B. The most frequent event types in the state are Heavy Snow (1,700 events), High Wind (614 events), Wildfire (299 events). Across the 39counties FEMA scores here, its National Risk Index flags 5 as high-risk, with an average county Risk Index score (FEMA's own formula, distinct from our Historical Activity tool below) of 70.0/100.
What this count is, and is not. Storm Events is a reported database: NOAA compiles it from National Weather Service offices, trained spotters, law enforcement, and the public. It is a record of what was observed and logged, not a complete census of severe weather. Densely populated areas report more events than sparsely populated ones with similar meteorological exposure, and detection has improved over time, so an event count is not a like-for-like measure of hazard between places or across decades. Damage figures are field estimates, not audited losses. See methodology.
Disaster Types in Washington
Share of this state's FEMA declarations; the bar chart above is the same mix as counts.
Fire
68.4%
147 declarations
Flood
16.3%
35 declarations
Severe Storm
9.3%
20 declarations
Biological
1.4%
3 declarations
Mud/Landslide
1.4%
3 declarations
Earthquake
0.9%
2 declarations
Coastal Storm
0.5%
1 declarations
Drought
0.5%
1 declarations
Volcanic Eruption
0.5%
1 declarations
Fishing Losses
0.5%
1 declarations
Severe Ice Storm
0.5%
1 declarations
Storm Events by Type
NOAA storm event data for Washington (2015-2025).
| Event Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy Snow | 1,700 | 5 | 7 | $2.3M |
| High Wind | 614 | 15 | 6 | $1.1B |
| Wildfire | 299 | 4 | 4 | $1.8B |
| Winter Weather | 259 | 9 | 62 | $1.1M |
| Flood | 231 | 4 | 0 | $391.2M |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 178 | 2 | 0 | $6.9M |
| Winter Storm | 135 | 1 | 1 | $1.3M |
| Heat | 133 | 3 | 6 | $0 |
| Strong Wind | 112 | 10 | 14 | $14.9M |
| Ice Storm | 84 | 1 | 0 | $1.7M |
| Debris Flow | 83 | 0 | 0 | $2.5M |
| Excessive Heat | 78 | 13 | 1 | $2.0K |
| Flash Flood | 76 | 0 | 0 | $6.8M |
| Hail | 75 | 1 | 0 | $220.7K |
| Heavy Rain | 55 | 1 | 2 | $39.1M |
| Frost/Freeze | 50 | 1 | 1 | $20.0K |
| Dust Storm | 50 | 2 | 23 | $487.0K |
| Funnel Cloud | 30 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Coastal Flood | 26 | 0 | 0 | $3.2M |
| Dense Smoke | 26 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
Storm Events by Year
| Year | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 196 | 1 | 6 | $544.6M |
| 2024 | 360 | 16 | 9 | $549.0M |
| 2023 | 284 | 9 | 7 | $190.1M |
| 2022 | 477 | 7 | 4 | $359.3M |
| 2021 | 381 | 20 | 17 | $85.1M |
| 2020 | 463 | 7 | 21 | $1.3B |
| 2019 | 414 | 8 | 18 | $4.9M |
| 2018 | 429 | 4 | 43 | $141.8M |
| 2017 | 546 | 3 | 7 | $82.5M |
| 2016 | 320 | 7 | 7 | $8.4M |
| 2015 | 538 | 14 | 9 | $28.9M |
FEMA Disaster Declarations
How the 215 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download all 215 declarations as CSV . Source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
215 unique disaster declarations in Washington.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5646 | KAISER CANYON FIRE | FM | Fire | 2026-07-17 |
| 5638 | UPRIVER FIRE | FM | Fire | 2026-06-16 |
| 4906 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2026-04-07 |
| 3629 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | EM | Flood | 2025-12-12 |
| 5614 | LOWER SUGARLOAF FIRE | FM | Fire | 2025-09-26 |
| 5601 | BURDOIN FIRE | FM | Fire | 2025-07-19 |
| 4849 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2024-11-26 |
| 4823 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2024-09-24 |
| 5521 | RETREAT FIRE | FM | Fire | 2024-07-26 |
| 5518 | SWAWILLA FIRE | FM | Fire | 2024-07-24 |
| 5517 | WEST WHITE SWAN FIRE | FM | Fire | 2024-07-23 |
| 5499 | SLIDE RANCH FIRE | FM | Fire | 2024-06-23 |
| 4775 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2024-04-28 |
| 4759 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2024-02-15 |
| 5481 | OREGON FIRE | FM | Fire | 2023-08-19 |
| 5479 | GRAY FIRE | FM | Fire | 2023-08-18 |
| 5472 | EAGLE BLUFF FIRE | FM | Fire | 2023-07-30 |
| 5470 | NEWELL ROAD FIRE | FM | Fire | 2023-07-23 |
| 5469 | BAIRD SPRINGS FIRE | FM | Fire | 2023-07-11 |
| 5468 | MCEWAN FIRE | FM | Fire | 2023-07-05 |
| 5467 | TUNNEL FIVE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2023-07-03 |
| 4682 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2023-01-12 |
| 5456 | NAKIA CREEK FIRE | FM | Fire | 2022-10-17 |
| 5455 | BOLT CREEK FIRE | FM | Fire | 2022-09-10 |
| 5447 | LIND FIRE | FM | Fire | 2022-08-04 |
| 4650 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, SNOWSTORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2022-03-29 |
| 4635 | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2022-01-05 |
| 4631 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2021-12-21 |
| 5415 | SCHNEIDER SPRINGS FIRE | FM | Fire | 2021-08-19 |
| 5414 | TWENTYFIVE MILE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2021-08-18 |
| 5410 | MUCKAMUCK FIRE | FM | Fire | 2021-08-16 |
| 5411 | FORD CORKSCREW FIRE | FM | Fire | 2021-08-16 |
| 5401 | CEDAR CREEK FIRE | FM | Fire | 2021-07-20 |
| 5398 | RED APPLE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2021-07-14 |
| 5397 | CHUWEAH CREEK FIRE | FM | Fire | 2021-07-13 |
| 5395 | ANDRUS FIRE | FM | Fire | 2021-07-06 |
| 4593 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2021-04-08 |
| 4584 | WILDFIRES AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR | Fire | 2021-02-04 |
| 5360 | SUMNER GRADE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2020-09-09 |
| 5359 | BORDEAUX ROAD FIRE | FM | Fire | 2020-09-09 |
| 5355 | BABB FIRE | FM | Fire | 2020-09-08 |
| 5352 | APPLE ACRES FIRE | FM | Fire | 2020-09-07 |
| 5351 | COLD SPRINGS/PEARL HILL FIRE | FM | Fire | 2020-09-07 |
| 5342 | EVANS CANYON FIRE | FM | Fire | 2020-09-01 |
| 5337 | PALMER FIRE | FM | Fire | 2020-08-20 |
| 5330 | NORTH BROWNSTOWN FIRE | FM | Fire | 2020-08-17 |
| 5323 | ANGLIN FIRE | FM | Fire | 2020-07-28 |
| 5320 | ROAD 11 FIRE | FM | Fire | 2020-07-12 |
| 4539 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2020-04-23 |
| 4481 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-22 |
Showing 50 of 215 declarations.
FEMA National Risk Index
Composite natural hazard risk scores for Washington counties based on FEMA's National Risk Index.
Avg County Risk Score
70.0/100
High Risk Counties
5
of 39 counties
Top Hazard by EAL
Earthquake
$2.5B annual loss est.
Top 5 Hazards by Expected Annual Loss
#1
Earthquake
$2.5B EAL
#2
Riverine Flooding
$1.4B EAL
#3
Tsunami
$230.7M EAL
#4
Wildfire
$173.1M EAL
#5
Cold Wave
$117.0M EAL
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) EAL = Expected Annual Loss. Data: hazards.fema.gov/nri
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
National Flood Insurance Program claims across Washington from FEMA NFIP data.
Total Claims
15,927
Total Paid
$365.4M
Avg Per Claim
$22.9K
Counties With Claims
39
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
Counties in Washington
39 counties with FEMA disaster data. Declaration counts measure past federal action; NRI rating is FEMA's modeled composite, so a high count is not a high rating.
| # | County | Disasters | NRI rating | Major |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelan County | 52 | Relatively Moderate | 16 |
| 2 | Okanogan County | 40 | Relatively Moderate | 14 |
| 3 | Lewis County | 37 | Relatively Moderate | 34 |
| 4 | Snohomish County | 37 | Relatively High | 32 |
| 5 | Yakima County | 36 | Relatively Moderate | 17 |
| 6 | Grays Harbor County | 35 | Relatively High | 32 |
| 7 | King County | 35 | Very High | 31 |
| 8 | Wahkiakum County | 33 | Very Low | 30 |
| 9 | Mason County | 32 | Relatively Moderate | 28 |
| 10 | Clallam County | 30 | Relatively Moderate | 27 |
| 11 | Thurston County | 30 | Relatively High | 26 |
| 12 | Jefferson County | 30 | Relatively Low | 27 |
| 13 | Kittitas County | 29 | Relatively Moderate | 17 |
| 14 | Klickitat County | 29 | Relatively Low | 17 |
| 15 | Spokane County | 29 | Relatively Moderate | 14 |
| 16 | Skamania County | 29 | Relatively Low | 23 |
| 17 | Skagit County | 29 | Relatively Moderate | 25 |
| 18 | Whatcom County | 27 | Relatively Moderate | 23 |
| 19 | Pacific County | 27 | Relatively Moderate | 25 |
| 20 | Pierce County | 26 | Relatively High | 22 |
| 21 | Cowlitz County | 23 | Relatively Moderate | 21 |
| 22 | Ferry County | 22 | Relatively Low | 12 |
| 23 | Island County | 22 | Relatively Low | 20 |
| 24 | Pend Oreille County | 21 | Very Low | 17 |
| 25 | Stevens County | 21 | Relatively Low | 11 |
| 26 | Benton County | 20 | Relatively Moderate | 13 |
| 27 | Douglas County | 19 | Relatively Low | 7 |
| 28 | Whitman County | 18 | Very Low | 14 |
| 29 | Lincoln County | 17 | Relatively Low | 12 |
| 30 | Clark County | 17 | Relatively Moderate | 14 |
| 31 | Kitsap County | 16 | Relatively Moderate | 14 |
| 32 | Columbia County | 16 | Very Low | 12 |
| 33 | Garfield County | 15 | Very Low | 12 |
| 34 | Walla Walla County | 13 | Relatively Low | 9 |
| 35 | Asotin County | 13 | Very Low | 9 |
| 36 | Grant County | 12 | Relatively Low | 5 |
| 37 | San Juan County | 12 | Very Low | 10 |
| 38 | Franklin County | 11 | Relatively Low | 7 |
| 39 | Adams County | 10 | Very Low | 6 |
Highest-risk counties by FEMA National Risk Index
Declaration counts above measure past federal action; FEMA's NRI is a composite of Expected Annual Loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience. By that separate measure the highest-risk counties in Washington are King (Very High), Pierce (Relatively High), Snohomish (Relatively High), Grays Harbor (Relatively High), Thurston (Relatively High). Compare any county's recorded history with the Historical Activity tool.
All 39 counties in Washington are listed above.
Compare beyond this profile
Nationwide states with similar NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Washington: nearest states by average county National Risk Index composite and nearest FEMA declaration count (floor ≥5 records). Record similarity only, not a forecast of the next hazard.
Similar average NRI composite
Nearest states by mean county FEMA NRI score. Washington: 70.0 across 39 scored counties.
Similar declaration volume
Nearest states by FEMA declaration count. Washington: 215. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Disaster Preparedness Guides
Learn more about natural disaster risk, preparedness, and data interpretation.
Preparing for Natural Disasters
Essential steps to prepare your household for the most common natural hazards.
Hazard Risk by Region
How natural disaster risk varies across different US regions.
Climate Change & Disasters
How climate trends are changing the frequency and severity of natural disasters.
Frequently Asked Questions
What natural disasters affect Washington?
Washington is affected by fire, flood, severe storm, biological. The most common disaster type is Fire, based on 215 FEMA disaster declarations on record.
How many FEMA disaster declarations has Washington had?
Washington has received 215 FEMA disaster declarations, including 68 major disaster declarations. That total is spread across disaster types including Fire (147), Flood (35), Severe Storm (20).
What severe weather events are most common in Washington?
The most common severe weather events in Washington include heavy snow (1,700 events), high wind (614 events), wildfire (299 events). Over that 2015-2025 NOAA record, these events resulted in 96 fatalities and $3.3B in property and crop damage.
How active is Washington's federal disaster declaration record?
Washington has a very high level of historical federal declaration activity, based on 215 FEMA declaration records. This band is not a future-risk forecast. Separately, NOAA storm events from 2015-2025 record 96 fatalities and 148 injuries. NOAA-listed property and crop damage totals $3.3B.
How many flood insurance claims has Washington had?
Washington has 15,927 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims with $365.4M total paid out. Claims average $22.9K, with 39 counties reporting flood insurance claims.
Which counties in Washington have the most disaster declarations?
Among 39 counties in Washington, those with the most FEMA declaration records include Chelan (52 declarations), Okanogan (40 declarations), Lewis (37 declarations). County-by-county figures show where the state's federal declaration history concentrates.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations, NOAA Storm Events Database (2015-2025) For informational purposes only
What this means for Washington
Chelan alone accounts for 24% of Washington's FEMA disaster declarations, out of 39 counties tracked statewide.
- The declaration record is uneven within the state: Chelan and Okanogan carry the most FEMA declarations. Browse counties
- See how Washington ranks against other states for disaster frequency and damage. State rankings
- Learn what FEMA declarations, NRI risk scores, and damage figures do and don't tell you. Disaster-data guide
Historical declaration counts and damage totals describe past federal response, not a forecast. For current threats, follow the National Weather Service and local officials; in an emergency call 911.
PlainHazard derives this presentation from FEMA's Disaster Declarations Summaries. Its county comparison covers 3,266 U.S. counties and county equivalents in this database, refreshed as of 2026-08-25. Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
Verify with FEMA → · Verify with FEMA NRI → · Verify with NOAA →
Every figure on PlainHazard is rendered directly from FEMA federal disaster data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or national statistics report, the data & editorial changelog, or report a data error.