Editorial
Most disaster-prone counties in Washington
Washington has 944 county-level FEMA disaster declarations across 39 counties. The dominant hazard type is coastal storm. Chelan County leads with 51 declarations, followed by Okanogan County and Lewis County.
This ranking shows every county in Washington ordered by how many times FEMA has issued a disaster declaration affecting it. Counties near coastlines, river systems, or wildfire corridors tend to appear at the top because the same geographic exposure produces recurring events across decades.
Each county links to a full disaster history page with the complete declaration timeline, hazard type breakdown, decade trends, and whatever FEMA spending data is available. For a national view, see the most disaster-prone counties in America page.
Washington ranking
All counties by FEMA declaration count
| # | County | Declarations | Top hazard | First year | Latest year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelan County | 51 | Fire | 1972 | 2025 |
| 2 | Okanogan County | 39 | Fire | 1972 | 2024 |
| 3 | Lewis County | 36 | Flood | 1964 | 2025 |
| 4 | Snohomish County | 36 | Severe Storm | 1964 | 2025 |
| 5 | Yakima County | 35 | Fire | 1964 | 2025 |
| 6 | Grays Harbor County | 34 | Flood | 1964 | 2025 |
| 7 | King County | 34 | Flood | 1964 | 2025 |
| 8 | Wahkiakum County | 32 | Severe Storm | 1964 | 2025 |
| 9 | Mason County | 31 | Severe Storm | 1964 | 2025 |
| 10 | Clallam County | 29 | Severe Storm | 1979 | 2025 |
| 11 | Jefferson County | 29 | Severe Storm | 1979 | 2025 |
| 12 | Thurston County | 29 | Flood | 1965 | 2025 |
| 13 | Kittitas County | 28 | Fire | 1964 | 2025 |
| 14 | Klickitat County | 28 | Fire | 1964 | 2025 |
| 15 | Skagit County | 28 | Severe Storm | 1971 | 2025 |
| 16 | Skamania County | 28 | Severe Storm | 1964 | 2024 |
| 17 | Spokane County | 28 | Fire | 1964 | 2024 |
| 18 | Pacific County | 26 | Severe Storm | 1964 | 2024 |
| 19 | Whatcom County | 26 | Flood | 1971 | 2025 |
| 20 | Pierce County | 25 | Flood | 1964 | 2025 |
| 21 | Cowlitz County | 22 | Flood | 1964 | 2024 |
| 22 | Ferry County | 22 | Fire | 1974 | 2024 |
| 23 | Island County | 21 | Severe Storm | 1980 | 2024 |
| 24 | Stevens County | 21 | Fire | 1974 | 2021 |
| 25 | Benton County | 20 | Flood | 1964 | 2025 |
| 26 | Pend Oreille County | 20 | Severe Storm | 1974 | 2021 |
| 27 | Douglas County | 19 | Fire | 1972 | 2021 |
| 28 | Whitman County | 18 | Flood | 1964 | 2024 |
| 29 | Lincoln County | 17 | Fire | 1977 | 2021 |
| 30 | Clark County | 16 | Severe Storm | 1964 | 2024 |
| 31 | Columbia County | 16 | Flood | 1964 | 2021 |
| 32 | Kitsap County | 16 | Flood | 1965 | 2020 |
| 33 | Garfield County | 14 | Flood | 1964 | 2020 |
| 34 | Walla Walla County | 13 | Flood | 1964 | 2020 |
| 35 | Asotin County | 12 | Flood | 1964 | 2020 |
| 36 | Grant County | 12 | Fire | 1977 | 2023 |
| 37 | San Juan County | 12 | Coastal Storm | 1980 | 2022 |
| 38 | Franklin County | 11 | Flood | 1977 | 2022 |
| 39 | Adams County | 10 | Coastal Storm | 1977 | 2022 |