Natural hazards · Gilbertown

Gilbertown, AL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Gilbertown comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 5 claims here since 1983. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Gilbertown?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Gilbertown to be higher than in 87% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.

Inland flooding51%Hurricanes27%Tornadoes11%Cold waves5%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Gilbertown faces

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

Inland flooding

51% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Hurricanes

27% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 5 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 Gilbertown flood?

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

5paid claims since 1983

$154Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19832026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Gilbertown 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

1storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Gilbertown

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into GilbertownDeclared for Choctaw County only

2011

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

25 households applied for aid $39K aid approved

2005

Hurricane Katrina

397 households applied for aid $232K aid approved $19K to the Town of Gilbertown for repairs

2004

Hurricane Ivan

222 households applied for aid $249K aid approved

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