Risk-assessment baseline packet. County FIPS 53069. Release 2026-10, data as of 2026-09-30.
Summary
Plan status as of 2026-09-30: Expired on 2024-12-25. Plan: Wahkiakum County Hazard Mitigation Plan (FEMA plan 104258), approved 2019-12-26.
Update: FEMA tracker shows a plan in progress.
Since the plan was approved on 2019-12-26: 7 new hazard declarations (6 incidents) and 60 NOAA Storm Events records; details under "What changed since your last plan".
Highest expected annual loss (FEMA National Risk Index, modeled total; see B1-a): Tsunami ($2,016,302 a year), Inland Flooding ($1,799,522) and Earthquake ($977,145).
The packet's tables are organized by the items of FEMA's Local Mitigation Plan Review Tool, Element B (B1-a to B2-c); the summaries below follow the same order.
What changed since your last plan (approved 2019-12-26)
- New federal declarations:
- 7 new hazard declarations (6 incidents): DR-4539-WA (Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides), DR-4593-WA (Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides), DR-4650-WA (Severe Winter Storms, Snowstorms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding), DR-4682-WA (Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides), DR-4775-WA (Severe Winter Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides), EM-3629-WA (Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides), DR-4906-WA (Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides); also 2 COVID-19 declarations (not counted)
- Storm Events records since approval:
- 60 records (data through 2026-06-30)
- Repetitive loss now:
- FMA RL 0, SRL 2 (44 CFR 77.2); any definition: 12
- Repeat-flood change:
- this release sets the baseline count.
What the packet contains
Sections in FEMA checklist order; each heading names the review item its tables support. Full tables are in the downloads above.
Supports FEMA checklist item B1-a Hazard identification
17 of the 18 National Risk Index hazards apply here.
Highest expected annual loss (NRI, modeled): Tsunami, Inland Flooding and Earthquake.
Not covered by NRI (local data needed): dam failure (incl. upstream dams); levee failure; flash flood as its own subtype; ice jams; debris flows; erosion (riverine and coastal); land subsidence and sinkholes; expansive soils.
The state hazard mitigation plan also lists hazards for this county; FEMA asks the plan to explain any hazard it leaves out.
Supports FEMA checklist item B1-b Hazard location
- Avalanche, Earthquake, Hurricane, Landslide, Tornado, Tsunami, Volcanic Activity and Wildfire vary within the county; the packet lists the highest-rated census tracts for each.
- Coastal Flooding and Inland Flooding: the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) is the required location source for flooding. See the FEMA Flood Map Service Center (https://msc.fema.gov) for this county.
- Cold Wave, Drought, Hail, Heat Wave, Ice Storm, Lightning, Strong Wind and Winter Weather: affects the whole county; national data give no location within it.
Supports FEMA checklist item B1-c Hazard extent
Storm Events records for 10 of the 20 NOAA event-type groups mapped to the 18 hazards, with the scale, observed range and worst recorded event for each; the others say which local data are needed.
Worst recorded tornado, hail and thunderstorm wind (the three event types on record since the 1950s; the packet has every group):
- Hail: 1 in hail, 2017-09-18
Supports FEMA checklist item B1-d Previous occurrences
Federal declarations for this area: 33 declarations covering 28 separate hazard incidents counted in this packet; each with type, dates and county Public Assistance dollars.
New since the last plan (approved 2019-12-26): DR-4906-WA, EM-3629-WA, DR-4775-WA, DR-4682-WA, DR-4650-WA, DR-4593-WA, DR-4539-WA, DR-4481-WA and EM-3427-WA.
4 statewide declarations listed separately.
Hazards with no Storm Events record and no federal declaration are stated as such (6 of 18).
Storm Events history: 338 records (notable ones in the PDF, all of them in the Excel file).
Supports FEMA checklist item B1-e Probability of future events
FEMA annualized frequency (modeled) for each hazard, with a descriptor from a scale defined in the packet.
- Highly likely: Coastal Flooding, Landslide and Lightning
- Likely: Heat Wave, Inland Flooding and Winter Weather
- Possible: Avalanche, Cold Wave, Earthquake, Hail, Ice Storm, Strong Wind, Tornado, Tsunami and Volcanic Activity
- Unlikely: Wildfire
Historical frequency by intensity band (tornado, hail, wind): 9 bands from Storm Events.
Supports FEMA checklist item B1-f Hazards that vary across jurisdictions
Range of census tract risk scores within the area for 18 hazards (1 tract; rated tracts only).
1 jurisdiction: plan clock, repeat-flood count, Public Assistance dollars and event records naming the place (starting figures from federal data).
County Public Assistance in B1-d also includes applicants filed under the county that are not matched to a jurisdiction row here (for example county offices and boards filed under their own names, such as a sheriff's office or a conservation board, and state agencies, special districts and nonprofits), so the jurisdiction rows add up to less.
Supports FEMA checklist items B2-a and B2-b Vulnerability and potential impacts
The packet's table gives county-level starting figures; the plan describes impacts for each jurisdiction and its own assets.
Storm Events damage since 2019-12-26: $0 in county-coded records (10 records); $100,000 reported for the zone (50 zone records). Data through 2026-06-30; nominal dollars.
Local data needed
To gather:
- Critical facilities and lifelines per hazard
- A problem statement per jurisdiction per hazard
- Changes in development in hazard-prone areas since the last approval, or a statement of none (E1-a)
- Future assets
Supports FEMA checklist item B2-a Vulnerability (county context)
Population 4,415; building value $1,273,007,357 and agriculture value $3,352,608 (total, not at risk).
National Risk Index rating Very Low; social vulnerability Relatively High; community resilience Relatively Moderate.
Supports FEMA checklist item B2-c Repetitive loss properties
Repetitive-loss properties, FMA definition (44 CFR 77.2): 0 repetitive loss, 2 severe repetitive loss. NFIP insurance definition: 12 and 2.
Mitigated 0; insured 0; NFIP data as of 2026-08-02. Counts by occupancy group and for each jurisdiction are in the packet.