Natural Hazard Loss Profile
Expected annual loss across the 18 natural hazards in FEMA's National Risk Index. Life safety is expressed in fatality-equivalents, combining expected deaths and injuries. Property loss counts building damage only, not agriculture.
These figures cover natural hazards only. Structure fire, EMS, and motor vehicle incidents are not in the National Risk Index, so this is not an all-cause life safety measure. For Washington, the largest single contributor is Earthquake, 48% of the life-safety total.
Washington carries an expected 141 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $3.2B in building loss per year. Ranks compare the 50 states. Computed from census tract data covering every resident, independent of fire department boundaries.
Add fire mortality, cause, and loss
Natural hazard exposure is only part of the risk. Fire deaths and injuries, cause of ignition, and dollar loss per incident come from NERIS incident reporting, which grows as departments in Washington enroll. Our Regional tier adds that data for the departments your jurisdiction sponsors, next to public risk and NERIS adoption for every department in Washington.
Talk to us about Washington See what a department seesLoss Breakdown
Total expected annual loss: $5,153,971,009 per year. Life safety is shown here in dollars, at FEMA's $13.7M value of statistical life, so the three shares sum to the total.
Hazards Ranked Two Ways
The hazard that threatens people is often not the hazard that destroys buildings. Both columns cover the same 18 hazards over the same year.
By life-safety loss ($/yr)
By property loss ($/yr)
County Risk Map
Shaded by quintile across counties in this state. Click any county for its full profile.
Fire Service Profile
Department composition covers the 361 departments registered in NERIS Public for Washington. Departments that have not registered are not counted. The mix is computed over the departments NERIS registers to Washington; departments based elsewhere that respond into it are counted in the total above but not in the mix. Station coverage divides census population by registered stations; department service areas overlap, so their populations are not summed.
County Rankings
Counties in Washington ranked by risk. Click column headers to sort. Click a county to see its departments.
NRI Rating is from FEMA's National Risk Index, which measures community risk across 18 natural hazards using expected annual losses, social vulnerability, and community resilience. Life-Safety Loss uses FEMA's Value of Statistical Life ($13.7M per expected fatality) to estimate annual risk to human life.
Department and station counts are derived from boundaries self-reported through NERIS Public and may not reflect current service areas. A department serving several counties is counted in each, so the Departments column adds up to more than the statewide department total. Risk metrics are computed from census tract data and are not affected by boundary accuracy. See full methodology.
| County ▲ | Population ▲ | Departments ▲ | Life-Safety Loss ▼ | NRI Rating ▲ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| King County | 2.3M | 28 | $671.9M | Relatively High |
| Pierce County | 930,319 | 26 | $227.3M | Relatively High |
| Snohomish County | 844,430 | 20 | $145.3M | Relatively Moderate |
| Grays Harbor County | 77,053 | 18 | $135.8M | Very High |
| Whatcom County | 230,503 | 8 | $102.9M | Relatively High |
| Pacific County | 23,994 | 8 | $84.5M | Very High |
| Chelan County | 80,172 | 6 | $61.6M | Very High |
| Yakima County | 257,152 | 14 | $57.8M | Relatively High |
| Kitsap County | 277,881 | 8 | $56.3M | Relatively High |
| Thurston County | 299,067 | 16 | $55.8M | Relatively High |
| Clark County | 516,959 | 11 | $51.5M | Relatively Moderate |
| Spokane County | 549,056 | 14 | $40.6M | Relatively Low |
| Kittitas County | 47,172 | 7 | $40.0M | Very High |
| Cowlitz County | 112,360 | 10 | $26.8M | Relatively High |
| Clallam County | 77,813 | 7 | $25.2M | Relatively High |
| Lewis County | 85,154 | 13 | $23.6M | Very High |
| Skagit County | 131,328 | 21 | $17.9M | Relatively Moderate |
| Okanogan County | 43,425 | 10 | $17.2M | Very High |
| Benton County | 212,905 | 9 | $15.5M | Relatively Moderate |
| Island County | 86,836 | 5 | $12.8M | Relatively Moderate |
| Mason County | 67,982 | 13 | $9.8M | Relatively High |
| Grant County | 101,799 | 13 | $5.8M | Relatively Moderate |
| Franklin County | 98,902 | 7 | $5.6M | Relatively Moderate |
| Walla Walla County | 62,161 | 5 | $5.5M | Relatively Moderate |
| Skamania County | 12,402 | 7 | $5.1M | Relatively High |
| Jefferson County | 33,577 | 5 | $3.3M | Relatively High |
| Whitman County | 47,003 | 16 | $3.2M | Relatively Low |
| Lincoln County | 11,489 | 8 | $3.1M | Very High |
| Stevens County | 48,067 | 11 | $3.0M | Relatively Moderate |
| Klickitat County | 23,411 | 14 | $2.7M | Very High |
| Wahkiakum County | 4,658 | 3 | $2.6M | Very High |
| Douglas County | 44,366 | 4 | $2.4M | Very High |
| Adams County | 20,800 | 5 | $1.6M | Relatively Moderate |
| Pend Oreille County | 14,050 | 4 | $1.3M | Relatively Moderate |
| San Juan County | 18,478 | 4 | $1.1M | Relatively Moderate |
| Ferry County | 7,387 | 3 | $932.5K | Very High |
| Asotin County | 22,467 | 3 | $721.6K | Relatively Low |
| Columbia County | 4,014 | 1 | $335.4K | Very High |
| Garfield County | 2,353 | 0 | $114.4K | Relatively High |
Risk Snapshot
FEMA Disaster Declarations
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Our Regional tier gives state fire marshals and county fire authorities one briefing across every department in the jurisdiction: priority tracts ranked by risk and demand, NERIS adoption by county, and a quarterly report with a page per department. Response times appear for the departments you sponsor. Free 90-day pilot.
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