Natural hazards · Ruston

Ruston, WA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ruston comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ruston?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ruston to be higher than in 79% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes.

Earthquakes79%Inland flooding12%Tsunamis6%Everything else4%

By hazard

What Ruston faces

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

Earthquakes

79% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

12% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 11% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Tsunamis

6% of expected damage

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

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

HurricanesCold wavesDroughtAvalanches

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 Ruston flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Ruston isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Pierce County.

Disasters that hit Ruston

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RustonDeclared for Pierce County only

2009

Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, Mudslides, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $221 aid approved

2006

Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, and Mudslides

$2K to the City of Ruston for repairs

Pierce County has had 22 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. Ruston 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 Ruston’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Ruston. 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.