Natural hazards · Cheney

Cheney, WA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cheney comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Cheney?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cheney to be higher than in 1% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding30%Cold waves30%Earthquakes16%Heat waves10%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Cheney faces

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

Inland flooding

30% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 3% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

30% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Earthquakes

16% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Heat waves

10% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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 Cheney flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Spokane County.

Disasters that hit Cheney

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CheneyDeclared for Spokane County only

2023

Wildfires

42 households applied for aid $96K aid approved

Spokane County has had 26 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires 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. Cheney covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Cheney’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Cheney. 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 Cheney total about $745K 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.