Natural hazards · Elberta

Elberta, AL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Elberta comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 22 claims here since 1998. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Elberta?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Elberta to be higher than in 96% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes64%Inland flooding21%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Elberta faces

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

Hurricanes

64% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

21% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Elberta flood?

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

22paid claims since 1998

$1.4Mpaid to owners

9homes flooded more than once

19982026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Sally: 13 claims, $1.2M
Mid-spring storms: 4 claims, $115K
Hurricane Ivan: 1 claim, $31K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Baldwin County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

5homes raised above flood level

3storm safe rooms built

1buildings retrofitted against wind

Disasters that hit Elberta

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ElbertaDeclared for Baldwin County only

2020

Hurricane Sally

1,306 households applied for aid $1.3M aid approved $1.1M to the Town of Elberta for repairs

2014

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

305 households applied for aid $948K aid approved $129K to the Town of Elberta for repairs

2012

Hurricane Isaac

$3K to the Town of Elberta for repairs

2005

Hurricane Katrina

178 households applied for aid $220K aid approved $35K to the Town of Elberta for repairs

2005

Hurricane Dennis

60 households applied for aid $18K aid approved $7K to the Town of Elberta for repairs

2004

Hurricane Ivan

1,709 households applied for aid $2.5M aid approved $1.4M to the Town of Elberta for repairs

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $305 aid approved

Baldwin County has had 31 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. Elberta 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 Elberta’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Elberta. 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.