Natural hazards · Butler

Butler, AL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Butler comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 16 claims here since 1980. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Butler?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Butler to be higher than in 83% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.

Inland flooding53%Hurricanes21%Tornadoes13%Cold waves5%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Butler faces

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

Inland flooding

53% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Hurricanes

21% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Cold waves

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Butler flood?

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

16paid claims since 1980

$144Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19802026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Danny: 6 claims, $110K

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. Butler isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Choctaw County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Butler

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ButlerDeclared for Choctaw County only

2011

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

53 households applied for aid $128K aid approved

2005

Hurricane Katrina

539 households applied for aid $354K aid approved $34K to the Town of Butler for repairs

2005

Hurricane Dennis

$2K to the Town of Butler for repairs

2004

Hurricane Ivan

322 households applied for aid $364K aid approved $16K to the Town of Butler for repairs

Choctaw County has had 23 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.

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. Butler 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 Butler’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Butler. 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.