Mill Creek’s biggest natural hazard is earthquakes
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Mill Creek comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Mill Creek’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Mill Creek flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Mill Creek. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Mill Creek isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Snohomish County.How exposed is Mill Creek?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 51% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.
Calmer than 555 of the 639 Washington towns we cover.
Mill Creek covers 5 census tracts, combined by population.
What Mill Creek faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Earthquakes
Inland flooding
7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Mill Creek
Disasters that paid out in Mill Creek itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Mill Creek) and its biggest flood years.
- 2025Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides1 household applied for aid
- 2015Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$34K to the City of Mill Creek for repairs
- 2015Severe Windstorm$30K to the City of Mill Creek for repairs
- 2009Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, Mudslides, and Flooding1 household applied for aid
- 2008Severe Winter Storm and Record and Near Record Snow$21K to the City of Mill Creek for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides5 households applied for aid$3K aid approved
Show all 7
- 2006Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, and Mudslides$20K to the City of Mill Creek for repairs
Snohomish County has had 33 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Old photos of Mill Creek after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Mill Creek archive →Get ready for what Mill Creek actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Keep a shovel, a blanket and snacks in the car.
- Clear snow from furnace and dryer vents.
- Check on older neighbors when the power goes out.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Mill Creek and its neighbors
Mill Creek ranks 2nd calmest of 4 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Rating | Mostly | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Martha Lake | Moderate | earthquakes | 1 |
| Mill Creek East | Moderate | earthquakes | 1 |
| Mill Creek | Moderate | earthquakes | 0 |
| Silver Firs | Moderate | earthquakes | 1 |
Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Most disasters here begin in November–January
The month each of Snohomish County’s 33 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Mill Creek’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Mill Creek.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels. Across Mill Creek, expected losses total about $8.6M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Mill Creek.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.