Natural hazards · Grants Pass

Grants Pass, OR natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Grants Pass comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 10 claims here since 1981. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Grants Pass?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Grants Pass to be higher than in 80% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and earthquakes.

Inland flooding66%Earthquakes27%Heat waves5%Everything else2%

By hazard

What Grants Pass faces

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

Inland flooding

66% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Earthquakes

27% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Heat waves

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesCold wavesDroughtTsunamisVolcanic 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 Grants Pass flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Grants Pass, from FEMA’s records.

10paid claims since 1981

$102Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19812026

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

🏷️ 10% off flood insurance. Grants Pass is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 8) for its flood-proofing work.

Insurance rates: Josephine County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

3homes raised above flood level

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Grants Pass

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Grants PassDeclared for Josephine County only

2020

Wildfires and Straight-Line Winds

1 household applied for aid $28K to the City of Grants Pass for repairs

2017

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

$36K to the City of Grants Pass for repairs

2005

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

$16K to the City of Grants Pass for repairs

Josephine County has had 23 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and severe storms.

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. Grants Pass covers 8 census tracts, combined by population.

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

FEMA’s expected losses across Grants Pass total about $16.5M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.