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Natural hazards · Newcastle

Newcastle, WA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Newcastle comes from avalanches, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Newcastle?

69
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Newcastle to be higher than in 69% of U.S. communities, mostly from avalanches and earthquakes.

Avalanches52%Earthquakes29%Inland flooding17%Everything else1%
By hazard

What Newcastle faces

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

Avalanches

52% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 0% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Earthquakes

29% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

17% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 47% 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 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 Newcastle flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Newcastle 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 Newcastle

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into NewcastleDeclared for King County only
2020

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

$7K to the City of Newcastle for repairs
2008

Severe Winter Storm and Record and Near Record Snow

$10K to the City of Newcastle for repairs
2006

Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, and Mudslides

$44K to the City of Newcastle for repairs
2006

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

2 households applied for aid
King County has had 30 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around Newcastle

Newcastle and the towns around it

Renton: Very high, mostly earthquakesBellevue: High, mostly earthquakesFairwood: Very high, mostly earthquakesEast Renton Highlands: Very high, mostly earthquakesBryn Mawr-Skyway: Very high, mostly earthquakesKent: Very high, mostly earthquakesTukwila: Very high, mostly earthquakesMercer Island: High, mostly earthquakesMaple Heights-Lake Desire: High, mostly earthquakesSeattle: High, mostly earthquakesRedmond: High, mostly earthquakesMedina: Moderate, mostly earthquakesBeaux Arts Village: High, mostly earthquakesIssaquah: Very high, mostly earthquakesKirkland: High, mostly earthquakesSammamish: High, mostly earthquakesClyde Hill: High, mostly earthquakesNewcastle: High, mostly avalanches NewcastleRentonBellevue
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Rentonmostly earthquakesVery high
Bellevuemostly earthquakesHigh
Newcastlemostly avalanchesHigh
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. Newcastle covers 4 census tracts, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Newcastle’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Newcastle. 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 Newcastle total about $21.2M 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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