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Natural hazards · Newbern

Newbern, AL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Newbern comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Newbern?

72
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Newbern to be higher than in 72% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding42%Tornadoes16%Lightning11%Hurricanes10%Everything else21%
By hazard

What Newbern faces

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

Inland flooding

42% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Tornadoes

16% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Lightning

11% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places

Hurricanes

10% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 13 years in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windDrought

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 Newbern flood?

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

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

What’s been done with FEMA grants

6storm safe rooms built
Disasters that hit Newbern

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into NewbernDeclared for Hale County only
2023

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes

6 households applied for aid $8K aid approved
2021

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes

17 households applied for aid $33K aid approved
2020

Hurricane Zeta

18 households applied for aid $36K aid approved
2011

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

45 households applied for aid $32K aid approved
2005

Hurricane Katrina

73 households applied for aid $86K aid approved
2004

Hurricane Ivan

194 households applied for aid $231K aid approved
Hale County has had 20 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. Newbern 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 Newbern’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Newbern. 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.

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