TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
Rockaway BeachGood night
Natural hazards · Rockaway Beach

Rockaway Beach, OR natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Rockaway Beach comes from tsunamis, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 47 claims here since 1981. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Rockaway Beach?

91
Very high
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Rockaway Beach to be higher than in 91% of U.S. communities, mostly from tsunamis and earthquakes.

Tsunamis57%Earthquakes24%Inland flooding17%Everything else1%
By hazard

What Rockaway Beach faces

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

Tsunamis

57% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Earthquakes

24% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

17% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningAvalanchesVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

HurricanesDrought
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 Rockaway Beach flood?

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

47paid claims since 1981
$823Kpaid to owners
2homes 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
No community discount. Rockaway Beach isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Tillamook County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

3homes raised above flood level
1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters that hit Rockaway Beach

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Rockaway BeachDeclared for Tillamook County only
2015

Severe Winter Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

$223K to the City of Rockaway Beach for repairs
2007

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

59 households applied for aid $15K aid approved $30K to the City of Rockaway Beach for repairs
2006

Severe Winter Storm and Flooding

$10K to the City of Rockaway Beach for repairs
2006

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

$8K to the City of Rockaway Beach for repairs
Tillamook County has had 21 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms 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. Rockaway Beach 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 Rockaway Beach’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Rockaway Beach. 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.

We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Rockaway Beach, ORView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Rockaway Beach is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
Open detailed map