Natural hazards · Priest River

Priest River, ID natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Priest River comes from avalanches, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Priest River?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Priest River to be higher than in 83% of U.S. communities, mostly from avalanches and inland flooding.

Avalanches54%Inland flooding41%Everything else5%

By hazard

What Priest River faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Avalanches

54% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

41% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Priest River flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Priest River.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Priest River isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Bonner County.

Disasters that hit Priest River

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Priest River itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the City of Priest River.

Brought FEMA money into Priest RiverDeclared for Bonner County only

2011

Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

$86K to the City of Priest River for repairs

Bonner County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and fires.

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’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 here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Priest River is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Priest River’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Priest River. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

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.