Natural hazards · Chatom

Chatom, AL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Chatom comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Chatom?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Chatom to be higher than in 85% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes36%Inland flooding28%Tornadoes17%Strong wind6%Cold waves5%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Chatom faces

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

Hurricanes

36% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Inland flooding

28% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 67% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Chatom flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Chatom isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Washington County.

Disasters that hit Chatom

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ChatomDeclared for Washington County only

2020

Hurricane Zeta

97 households applied for aid $66K aid approved $28K to the Town of Chatom for repairs

2011

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

12 households applied for aid $946 aid approved

2005

Hurricane Katrina

372 households applied for aid $334K aid approved $42K to the Town of Chatom for repairs

2005

Hurricane Dennis

$2K to the Town of Chatom for repairs

2004

Hurricane Ivan

158 households applied for aid $121K aid approved $19K to the Town of Chatom for repairs

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

50 households applied for aid $103K aid approved

Washington County has had 22 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. Chatom 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 Chatom’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Chatom. 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.