Natural hazards · Acme

Acme, WA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Acme comes from avalanches, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Acme?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Acme to be higher than in 91% of U.S. communities, mostly from avalanches and inland flooding.

Avalanches71%Inland flooding23%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Acme faces

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

Avalanches

71% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Inland flooding

23% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDroughtVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesTsunamis

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 Acme flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Acme.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Whatcom County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

5flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

1homes raised above flood level

Disasters that hit Acme

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into AcmeDeclared for Whatcom County only

2021

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

6 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

2009

Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, Mudslides, and Flooding

6 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

2003

Severe Storms and Flooding

7 households applied for aid $7K aid approved

Whatcom County has had 23 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods 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. Acme 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 Acme’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Acme. 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.