Natural hazards · Attalla

Attalla, AL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Attalla comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 19 claims here since 1979. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations
Expected damage

How exposed is Attalla?

70
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Attalla to be higher than in 70% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding52%Tornadoes30%Earthquakes7%Everything else11%
By hazard

What Attalla faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Inland flooding

52% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

30% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Earthquakes

7% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Flood insurance claims

Does Attalla flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Attalla, from FEMA’s records.

19paid claims since 1979
$99Kpaid to owners
2homes flooded more than once
19792026

Biggest named events

  • Not a named storm: 4 claims, $8K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Attalla isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Etowah County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

16storm safe rooms built
Disasters that hit Attalla

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Attalla itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the City of Attalla.

Brought FEMA money into AttallaDeclared for Etowah County only
2018

Severe Storms and Tornadoes

7 households applied for aid
2014

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

19 households applied for aid $12K aid approved
2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

48 households applied for aid $19K aid approved
2004

Hurricane Ivan

29 households applied for aid $44K aid approved
2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

5 households applied for aid $13K aid approved
Etowah County has had 27 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.
Around Attalla

Attalla and the towns around it

Gadsden: Moderate, mostly inland floodingRainbow City: Moderate, mostly inland floodingGlencoe: High, mostly inland floodingTidmore Bend: High, mostly inland floodingReece City: High, mostly inland floodingAttalla: High, mostly inland flooding AttallaGadsden
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Attallamostly inland floodingHigh
Gadsdenmostly inland floodingModerate
About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.
Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Attalla covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Attalla’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Attalla. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Attalla total about $1.6M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01