Natural hazards · Cardiff

Cardiff, AL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cardiff comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Cardiff?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cardiff 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 Cardiff 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 Cardiff flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Cardiff.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Cardiff 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

2flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Cardiff

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CardiffDeclared for Jefferson County only

2011

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

1 household applied for aid

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

14 households applied for aid $90K aid approved $4K to the Town of Cardiff for repairs

Jefferson County has had 36 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.

Around Cardiff

Cardiff and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Cardiffmostly inland floodingHigh

Brooksidemostly inland floodingHigh

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