Natural hazards · Fairwood

Fairwood, WA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Fairwood comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Fairwood?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Fairwood to be higher than in 81% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes55%Inland flooding43%Everything else2%

By hazard

What Fairwood faces

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

Earthquakes

55% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

43% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% 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 Fairwood flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Fairwood 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 Fairwood

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into FairwoodDeclared for King County only

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

Around Fairwood

Fairwood and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Rentonmostly earthquakesVery high

Fairwoodmostly earthquakesVery high

Maple Heights-Lake Desiremostly earthquakesHigh

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. Fairwood covers 4 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Fairwood’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Fairwood. 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 Fairwood total about $8.4M 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.