Natural hazards · Cougar

Cougar, WA natural hazards

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

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cougar to be higher than in 88% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and volcanic activity.

Inland flooding49%Volcanic activity27%Cold waves12%Earthquakes6%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Cougar faces

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

Inland flooding

49% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Volcanic activity

27% of expected damage

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

Cold waves

12% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 59% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Earthquakes

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesDroughtTsunamis

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 Cougar flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Cowlitz County.

Disasters that hit Cougar

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CougarDeclared for Cowlitz County only

2009

Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, Mudslides, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $1K aid approved

Cowlitz County has had 21 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. Cougar 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 Cougar’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Cougar. 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.