Natural hazards · Kalama

Kalama, WA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Kalama comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 5 claims here since 1998. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Kalama?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Kalama to be higher than in 76% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes42%Inland flooding28%Volcanic activity21%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Kalama faces

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

Earthquakes

42% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

28% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 45% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Volcanic activity

21% of expected damage

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

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningAvalanches

Not a risk here

HurricanesDroughtTsunamis

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 Kalama flood?

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

5paid claims since 1998

$277Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19982026

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Kalama 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.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1homes raised above flood level

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Kalama

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into KalamaDeclared for Cowlitz County only

2021

Severe Winter Storms, Snowstorms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding

$34K to the City of Kalama for repairs

2015

Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, Mudslides, and a T

$234K to the City of Kalama for repairs

2009

Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, Mudslides, and Flooding

32 households applied for aid $30K aid approved $25K to the City of Kalama for repairs

2008

Severe Winter Storm and Record and Near Record Snow

$12K to the City of Kalama for repairs

2006

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

4 households applied for aid $1K aid approved $13K to the City of Kalama for repairs

2001

Earthquake

$13K to the City of Kalama for repairs

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. Kalama 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 Kalama’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Kalama. 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.