Moscow is calmer than 88% of U.S. communities
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Moscow comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 41 claims here since 1996. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Moscow’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
How exposed is Moscow?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 12% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.
Calmer than 211 of the 234 Idaho towns we cover.
Moscow covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Does Moscow flood? Sometimes: 41 flood claims since 1996
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Moscow, from FEMA’s records.
Moscow is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 8) for its flood-proofing work.
Insurance rates: Latah County.2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Moscow
Disasters that paid out in Moscow itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Moscow) and its biggest flood years.
- 2019Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$92K to the City of Moscow for repairs18 flood claims paid that year
- 2017Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$16K to the City of Moscow for repairs
- 199610 flood claims paidOne of the three biggest flood years on record
Latah County has had 14 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Old photos of Moscow after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Moscow archive →What Moscow faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Cold waves
Heat waves
Get ready for what Moscow actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, 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.
- Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
- Know where your water shutoff is.
- Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
- Know the nearest cooling center or air-conditioned library.
- Drink water before you feel thirsty.
- Check on neighbors who live alone.
- 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.
- Moscow residents get 10% off flood insurance.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Disasters here can come any time of year
The month each of Latah County’s 14 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.
- Compared by rate. “Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Moscow’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Moscow.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels. Across Moscow, expected losses total about $902K a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Moscow.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); 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. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.