Natural hazards · Washington

Washington, WI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Washington comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Washington?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Washington to be higher than in 70% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding57%Cold waves31%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Washington faces

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

Inland flooding

57% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Cold waves

31% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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 Washington flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Rusk County.

Disasters that hit Washington

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Rusk County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Washington itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into WashingtonDeclared for Rusk County only

Rusk County has had 10 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Washington

Washington and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Washingtonmostly inland floodingHigh

Big Bendmostly inland floodingHigh

Willardmostly inland floodingHigh

Thornapplemostly inland floodingHigh

Birch Creekmostly inland floodingModerate

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. Washington 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 Washington’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Washington. 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.