921 flood insurance claims·$13.5M paid·16 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Grays Harbor County, Washington. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Riverine flooding combined with coastal flood events and storm surge shapes the flood risk in Grays Harbor County. NOAA Storm Events Database records show recent significant impacts, including a persistent series of atmospheric rivers and wind storms in January 2021 and minor to moderate coastal flooding driven by low atmospheric pressure and high astronomical tides in November 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data demonstrate that property damage occurs across multiple zones. Zone A accounts for the vast majority with 718 claims averaging $19,209 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Additional claims are distributed across Zone X (52 claims, averaging $24,402 and an average 10 inches of water depth), Zone X_UNSHADED (48 claims, averaging $20,226 and an average 9 inches of water depth), Zone UNKNOWN (86 claims, averaging $3,555 and an average 2 inches of water depth), and Zone X_SHADED (10 claims, averaging $4,249 and an average 8 inches of water depth).
Homeowners and real estate agents with properties in Zone A and various Zone X designations should pay the closest attention to flood risk, as these areas account for the highest claim frequencies and average payout amounts.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
7% of Grays Harbor County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
782 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 7 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 2015, with 281 claims and $5.3M paid, the year of Severe Windstorm and Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, Mudslides, and A T.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
6 NOAA storm reports from Grays Harbor County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Washington flood stories →
34 federal disaster declarations since 1964, 16 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Dec 9, 2025 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jan 5, 2024 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Snowstorms, Straight-line Winds, Floodin | Dec 26, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Dec 29, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jan 20, 2020 |
| Severe Winter Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, Mudslides, Tornado | Dec 10, 2018 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, Mudslides, And A T | Dec 1, 2015 |
| Severe Windstorm | Aug 29, 2015 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
13 since 1996: 6 river or area floods and 7 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Coastal Flood | Nov 13, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jan 6, 2022 | $3.4M · 2 killed |
| Coastal Flood | Jan 13, 2021 | $1.0M |
| Flood | Jan 12, 2021 | $59,000 |
| Flood | Jan 2, 2021 | $60,000 |
| Coastal Flood | Nov 15, 2020 | $2.0M |
| Coastal Flood | Dec 10, 2015 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Jan 7, 2009 | $1.2M |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Coastal Flood · Nov 13, 2024. A combination of low atmospheric pressure and high astronomical tide produced minor to moderate coastal flooding on the Washington coast and in south Puget Sound.
Flood · Jan 6, 2022. A strong and persistent upper-level low-pressure system developed over the northern Rockies and southern Canada and then slowly migrated westward while continuously directing the jet stream and primary storm track at Washington State. This strong low-pressure system resulted in a 21-day period of a series of winter storms, wind storms, and atmospheric rivers that battered Washington State in rapid succession. Firs…
Coastal Flood · Jan 13, 2021. A series of storm systems affected Western Washington around the middle of January, with dangerous beach conditions expected to set up by January 12. This combined with King Tides led to the potential for coastal flooding through the 13th.
Flood · Jan 12, 2021. The period from January 10 to 16 continued a pattern of a strong and persistent Aleutian Low pressure system in the eastern Pacific that began December 29, 2020 and which directed the jet stream and primary storm track at Washington State. This resulted in a series of atmospheric rivers and wind storms that battered Washington State. Water vapor transport into Washington State averaged 160-200% of normal during t…
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Grays Harbor County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.