Natural hazards · Milton-Freewater

Milton-Freewater, OR natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Milton-Freewater comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is low 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 Milton-Freewater?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Milton-Freewater to be higher than in 37% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes29%Inland flooding29%Cold waves26%Heat waves5%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Milton-Freewater faces

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

Earthquakes

29% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

29% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 35% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

26% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Heat waves

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Milton-Freewater flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Milton-Freewater.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Umatilla County.

Disasters that hit Milton-Freewater

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Milton-FreewaterDeclared for Umatilla County only

2020

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

42 households applied for aid $353K aid approved

Umatilla County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and floods.

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. Milton-Freewater covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Milton-Freewater’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Milton-Freewater. 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 Milton-Freewater total about $1.7M 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.