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Natural hazards · Cottondale

Cottondale, AL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cottondale comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Cottondale?

41
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cottondale to be higher than in 41% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding44%Tornadoes25%Heat waves9%Earthquakes8%Cold waves6%Everything else8%
By hazard

What Cottondale faces

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

Inland flooding

44% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 48% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

25% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Heat waves

9% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 61% of U.S. places
Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

8% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Cold waves

6% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesStrong 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 Cottondale flood?

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

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

What’s been done with FEMA grants

82storm safe rooms built
Disasters that hit Cottondale

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CottondaleDeclared for Tuscaloosa County only
2014

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

91 households applied for aid $246K aid approved
2011

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

501 households applied for aid $1.1M aid approved
2005

Hurricane Katrina

34 households applied for aid $22K aid approved
2004

Hurricane Ivan

12 households applied for aid $11K aid approved
Tuscaloosa County has had 25 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.
Around Cottondale

Cottondale and the towns around it

Tuscaloosa: Moderate, mostly inland floodingHolt: Moderate, mostly inland floodingNorthport: Moderate, mostly inland floodingVance: Low, mostly inland floodingBrookwood: Moderate, mostly inland floodingCottondale: Moderate, mostly inland flooding CottondaleTuscaloosa
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Tuscaloosamostly inland floodingModerate
Cottondalemostly 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. Cottondale covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Cottondale’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Cottondale. 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 Cottondale total about $790K 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/19 · 2025-01-01
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