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Natural hazards · Startup

Startup, WA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Startup comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Startup?

96
Very high
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Startup to be higher than in 96% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and avalanches.

Inland flooding56%Avalanches20%Earthquakes11%Landslides11%Everything else3%
By hazard

What Startup faces

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

Inland flooding

56% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Avalanches

20% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Earthquakes

11% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Landslides

11% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireStrong windLightningDroughtVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesTsunamis
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 Startup flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Startup 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.
Disasters that hit Startup

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into StartupDeclared for Snohomish 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

1 household applied for aid $4K aid approved
2006

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

7 households applied for aid $29K aid approved
Snohomish County has had 33 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Around Startup

Startup and the towns around it

Sultan: Very high, mostly inland floodingGold Bar: Very high, mostly inland floodingNorth Sultan: Very high, mostly inland floodingMay Creek: Very high, mostly inland floodingStartup: Very high, mostly inland flooding StartupSultanGold Bar
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Startupmostly inland floodingVery high
Sultanmostly inland floodingVery high
Gold Barmostly inland floodingVery high
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. Startup 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 Startup’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Startup. 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/19 · 2025-01-01
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