TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
RainierGood evening
Natural hazards · Rainier

Rainier, WA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Rainier comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Rainier?

66
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Rainier to be higher than in 66% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes53%Inland flooding43%Everything else5%
By hazard

What Rainier faces

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

Earthquakes

53% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

43% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 52% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesCold wavesDroughtAvalanchesTsunamis
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 Rainier flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Rainier isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Thurston County.
Disasters that hit Rainier

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RainierDeclared for Thurston County only
2025

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

1 household applied for aid
2009

Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, Mudslides, and Flooding

4 households applied for aid $2K aid approved
2007

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

2 households applied for aid $3K aid approved
2006

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

3 households applied for aid
2001

Earthquake

$16K to the City of Rainier for repairs
Thurston County has had 26 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. Rainier 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 Rainier’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Rainier. 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.

The porch light’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Rainier, WAView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Rainier is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

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