TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
GordoGood night
Natural hazards · Gordo

Gordo, AL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Gordo comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1983. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Gordo?

61
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Gordo to be higher than in 61% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding36%Tornadoes24%Heat waves12%Earthquakes10%Everything else18%
By hazard

What Gordo faces

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

Inland flooding

36% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Tornadoes

24% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Heat waves

12% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 61% of U.S. places
Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

10% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold 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 Gordo flood?

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

1paid claims since 1983
$68paid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
19832026
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Gordo isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Pickens County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

10storm safe rooms built
Disasters that hit Gordo

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into GordoDeclared for Pickens County only
2014

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

1 household applied for aid
2012

Hurricane Isaac

$105K to the Town of Gordo for repairs
2011

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

70 households applied for aid $81K aid approved
2005

Hurricane Katrina

73 households applied for aid $25K aid approved $17K to the Town of Gordo for repairs
2004

Hurricane Ivan

13 households applied for aid $10K aid approved $13K to the Town of Gordo for repairs
Pickens County has had 16 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. Gordo 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 Gordo’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Gordo. 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.

We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Gordo, ALView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Gordo is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
Open detailed map