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Natural hazards · Brookside

Brookside, AL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Brookside comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 22 claims here since 1979. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Brookside?

78
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Brookside to be higher than in 78% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding60%Tornadoes17%Cold waves9%Earthquakes6%Everything else8%
By hazard

What Brookside faces

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

Inland flooding

60% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 23 years in the area

Cold waves

9% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Earthquakes

6% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat 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 Brookside flood?

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

22paid claims since 1979
$325Kpaid to owners
3homes flooded more than once
19792026

Homes that flooded again and again

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

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

What’s been done with FEMA grants

63flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters that hit Brookside

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BrooksideDeclared for Jefferson County only
2014

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

2 households applied for aid
2011

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

10 households applied for aid
2004

Hurricane Ivan

4 households applied for aid $3K aid approved
2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

57 households applied for aid $464K aid approved $201K to the Town of Brookside for repairs
Jefferson County has had 36 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.
Around Brookside

Brookside and the towns around it

Adamsville: Low, mostly inland floodingMount Olive: High, mostly inland floodingCardiff: High, mostly inland floodingGraysville: Moderate, mostly inland floodingForestdale: Moderate, mostly inland floodingBirmingham: High, mostly inland floodingGardendale: Moderate, mostly inland floodingWest Jefferson: High, mostly inland floodingMaytown: High, mostly inland floodingIrondale: Moderate, mostly inland floodingCenter Point: Low, mostly inland floodingHomewood: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMountain Brook: Moderate, mostly inland floodingTrussville: Moderate, mostly inland floodingVestavia Hills: High, mostly inland floodingHoover: High, mostly inland floodingLeeds: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMcDonald Chapel: High, mostly inland floodingMidfield: High, mostly inland floodingFultondale: Low, mostly inland floodingBrookside: High, mostly inland flooding BrooksideAdamsvilleMount OliveCardiffGraysvilleForestdaleBirminghamGardendale
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Brooksidemostly inland floodingHigh
Mount Olivemostly inland floodingHigh
Cardiffmostly inland floodingHigh
Birminghammostly inland floodingHigh
Forestdalemostly inland floodingModerate
Graysvillemostly inland floodingModerate
Gardendalemostly inland floodingModerate
Adamsvillemostly inland floodingLow
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. Brookside is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Brookside’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Brookside. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

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
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