Natural hazards · Prineville

Prineville, OR natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Prineville comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 37 claims here since 1998. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Prineville?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Prineville to be higher than in 66% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and earthquakes.

Inland flooding67%Earthquakes24%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Prineville faces

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

Inland flooding

67% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Earthquakes

24% of expected damage

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

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDroughtVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamis

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 Prineville flood?

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

37paid claims since 1998

$352Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19982026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Crook County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

6flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Prineville

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PrinevilleDeclared for Crook County only

2003

Severe Winter Storms

$12K to the City of Prineville for repairs

Crook County has had 10 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. Prineville covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Prineville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Prineville. 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 Prineville 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.