Westfir’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Westfir comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Westfir’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Westfir flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Westfir. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Westfir isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Lane County.How exposed is Westfir?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 90% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.
Rated higher than 353 of the 425 Oregon towns we cover.
Westfir is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
What Westfir faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Earthquakes
1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Westfir
Disasters that paid out in Westfir itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Westfir) and its biggest flood years.
- 2020Wildfires and Straight-Line Winds1 household applied for aid
Lane County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Old photos of Westfir after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Westfir archive →Get ready for what Westfir 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 Lane County’s 20 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 Westfir’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Westfir.
- 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 Westfir.
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.