The Most Devastating Natural Disasters in Washington State History

I've talked before about how scary nature can be. Dissolving alive in hot springs, angry animal moms, Mount St. Helens... the list goes on. I love nature, honestly; I've been called a granola girl more than once in my life. But with that love comes a great amount of respect, because no matter how advanced humanity becomes, nature will always be able to show us her deadly power.

What natural disasters does Washington State have?

No place on earth is safe from nature's capacity for destruction. Here in Washington, we are most commonly faced with powerful storms (wind, rain, and snow), drought, wildfires, floods, and earthquakes. We've also seen a good share of avalanches in our beautiful mountains, and even typhoons and tornadoes!

Washington State doesn't have hurricanes, though.

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What was the worst natural disaster in Washington State?

Of all the natural disasters we've faced, probably the worst on the list is the Wellington Avalanche - even 24/7 Wall St. ranked it the worst in the state.

Take a look at the natural disasters below - what do you think?

The worst natural disaster I lived through

I only moved to Washington in 2017, so most of these incidents were "before my time" as a Washingtonian - though I definitely remember the awful fires in 2020.

I grew up in Southern California, which meant I grew up with earthquakes. Most notably, I was a kid that went through both the 1994 Northridge earthquake and the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake.

In terms of magnitude, the Northridge quake was the worst, tearing apart roadways, flattening buildings, and devastating a huge part of SoCal. That morning, I was having a sleep over with my younger cousins at my grandparents' house - we struggled to get my youngest out of bed and away from the large glass windows, and my grandparents slept through the whole thing! But we all came away pretty safe and sound.

On the other hand, the Whittier Narrows quake - which was a smaller magnitude, though incredibly powerful - was centered only six miles from where I lived. I remember the intense shaking, the cracks forming in the walls, clinging to the doorframe in the hallway as the world seemed to lurch below me. No earthquake's been able to scare me since.

What about you? Head to our app and let us know about your worst natural disaster experience!