Natural hazards · Cottage Lake

Cottage Lake, WA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cottage Lake comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 9 claims here since 1981.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Cottage Lake?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cottage Lake to be higher than in 59% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes61%Inland flooding36%Everything else3%

By hazard

What Cottage Lake faces

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

Earthquakes

61% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

36% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 36% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesDroughtAvalanchesTsunamis

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 Cottage Lake flood?

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

9paid claims since 1981

$66Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19812026

Biggest named events

Winter storm: 1 claim, $7K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: King County.

Disasters that hit Cottage Lake

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for King County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Cottage Lake itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into Cottage LakeDeclared for King County only

King County has had 30 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Cottage Lake

Cottage Lake and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Redmondmostly earthquakesHigh

Woodinvillemostly earthquakesHigh

High Bridgemostly earthquakesHigh

Union Hill-Novelty Hillmostly earthquakesHigh

Maltbymostly earthquakesHigh

Cottage Lakemostly earthquakesModerate

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. Cottage Lake covers 5 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Cottage Lake’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Cottage Lake. 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 Cottage Lake total about $12.4M 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.