Whatcom, WA
Whatcom County in Washington has 14 FEMA disaster declarations on record covering 1971–2026, most recently Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides on Apr 7, 2026 (DR-4906). Its flood risk grade is B (Moderate risk), ranking #90 of 3,277 U.S. counties, with 97 NFIP flood insurance claims totaling $6,335,974 in payouts. Flood risk is relatively low compared to the national average.
FEMA Disaster Declarations in Whatcom County
The 14 most recent federally declared disasters affecting Whatcom County, WA (1971–2026). Total declarations on record: 14.
| Declared | Incident Type | Title | FEMA Disaster # |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 7, 2026 | Flood | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | DR-4906 |
| Dec 12, 2025 | Flood | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | DR-3629 |
| Jan 5, 2022 | Flood | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | DR-4635 |
| Apr 23, 2020 | Flood | Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | DR-4539 |
| Apr 21, 2017 | Flood | Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, Mudslides | DR-4309 |
| Jan 30, 2009 | Flood | Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, Mudslides, and Flooding | DR-1817 |
| Sep 7, 2005 | Coastal Storm | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | DR-3227 |
| Mar 8, 1991 | Flood | Severe Storms & High Tides | DR-896 |
| Nov 26, 1990 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | DR-883 |
| Jan 27, 1983 | Flood | Severe Storms, High Tides & Flooding | DR-676 |
| Dec 31, 1979 | Flood | Storms, High Tides, Mudslides & Flooding | DR-612 |
| Dec 10, 1977 | Flood | Severe Storms,mudslides, & Flooding | DR-545 |
| Dec 13, 1975 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | DR-492 |
| Feb 9, 1971 | Flood | Heavy Rains, Melting Snows & Flooding | DR-300 |
Score Breakdown
The composite score of 23 is calculated from four weighted factors. See our methodology for details.
Other Counties in Washington
| County | Grade | Score | Claims | Disasters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skagit | B | 22 | 48 | 13 |
| King | B | 25 | 78 | 18 |
| Thurston | A | 20 | 13 | 15 |
| Kitsap | A | 19 | 16 | 7 |
| Island | A | 18 | 19 | 6 |
| Wahkiakum | A | 16 | 2 | 15 |
More Counties in Washington
Frequently Asked Questions
How many FEMA disaster declarations does Whatcom County, WA have?
Whatcom County, WA has 14 federal disaster declarations on FEMA record (1971–2026). The 5 most recent are: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (declared Apr 7, 2026, DR-4906); Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (declared Dec 12, 2025, DR-3629); Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (declared Jan 5, 2022, DR-4635); Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (declared Apr 23, 2020, DR-4539); Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, Mudslides (declared Apr 21, 2017, DR-4309). Counts include flood, severe storm, hurricane, and coastal storm declarations from the OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries dataset.
What is the flood risk grade for Whatcom County, WA?
Whatcom County is graded B (composite score 23/100, moderate risk). It ranks #90 of 3,277 U.S. counties for flood risk in our scoring model. The grade combines NFIP claims density (40%), disaster frequency (25%), claim severity (20%), and year-over-year trend (15%).
How many NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Whatcom County?
97 NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Whatcom County, WA, totaling $6,335,974 in payouts. The average claim is $65,319. Source: FEMA FimaNfipClaims v2 dataset.
Has Whatcom County, WA had any recent flood disasters?
Yes. The most recent FEMA declaration affecting Whatcom County was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides on Apr 7, 2026 (DR-4906). The county has 14 declared disasters in the OpenFEMA record covering 1971–2026.
For this entity, the underlying data on this page comes from FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims. The breakdown above is the federal record; the paragraphs below add the per-entity context that makes the headline numbers usable for a real decision rather than just a data lookup.
Every number on this page links back to FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims; the methodology page describes the inputs, refresh cadence, and known limitations of the underlying data product.
Practical use of this page is in combination with the comparison and ranking pages elsewhere on the site, which surface the same data for this entity’s peers within U.S. ZIPs, counties, and states. A single-entity reading without peer context can be misleading when an entity is an outlier on one axis but typical on another.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA datasets, 2026.