Natural hazards · McCalla

McCalla, AL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in McCalla comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2014. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is McCalla?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in McCalla to be higher than in 50% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding51%Tornadoes22%Cold waves12%Heat waves6%Everything else9%

By hazard

What McCalla 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

Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

22% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 64 years in the area

Cold waves

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Heat waves

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 55% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 McCalla flood?

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

2paid claims since 2014

$57Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20142026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Jefferson County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

23storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit McCalla

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into McCallaDeclared for Jefferson County only

2011

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

7 households applied for aid

Jefferson County has had 36 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.

Around McCalla

McCalla and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Lake Viewmostly inland floodingHigh

McCallamostly inland floodingModerate

Bessemermostly 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. McCalla covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to McCalla’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to McCalla. 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 McCalla total about $3.4M 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.