Natural hazards · Chelan

Chelan, WA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Chelan comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is 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 Chelan?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Chelan to be higher than in 74% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and wildfires.

Inland flooding60%Wildfire30%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Chelan faces

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

Inland flooding

60% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Wildfire

30% of expected damage

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

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Chelan flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Chelan County.

Disasters that hit Chelan

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ChelanDeclared for Chelan County only

2025

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

2 households applied for aid $790 aid approved $15K to the City of Chelan for repairs

2015

Wildfires and Mudslides

$80K to the City of Chelan for repairs

2003

Severe Storms and Flooding

2 households applied for aid

Chelan County has had 49 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. Chelan covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Chelan’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Chelan. 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 Chelan total about $1.4M 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.