Myrtle Point’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Myrtle Point comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 9 claims here since 1981. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Myrtle Point’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
How exposed is Myrtle Point?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 92% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and earthquakes.
Rated higher than 372 of the 425 Oregon towns we cover.
Myrtle Point is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
What Myrtle Point faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Earthquakes
Does Myrtle Point flood? Rarely: 9 flood claims since 1981
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Myrtle Point, from FEMA’s records.
Myrtle Point isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Coos County.2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Myrtle Point
Disasters that paid out in Myrtle Point itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Myrtle Point) and its biggest flood years.
- 2025Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$45K to the City of Myrtle Point for repairs
- 2002Severe Winter Storm With High Winds$1K to the City of Myrtle Point for repairs
Coos County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Old photos of Myrtle Point after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Myrtle Point archive →Get ready for what Myrtle Point 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- Keep a shovel, a blanket and snacks in the car.
- Clear snow from furnace and dryer vents.
- Check on older neighbors when the power goes out.
- 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.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Most disasters here begin in December–February
The month each of Coos County’s 17 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 Myrtle Point’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Myrtle Point.
- 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.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Myrtle Point.
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.