Natural hazards · Pennington

Pennington, AL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Pennington comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Pennington?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Pennington to be higher than in 82% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.

Inland flooding53%Hurricanes20%Tornadoes13%Earthquakes5%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Pennington faces

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

Inland flooding

53% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Hurricanes

20% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Earthquakes

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong 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 Pennington flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Pennington 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 Pennington

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PenningtonDeclared for Choctaw County only

2011

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

60 households applied for aid $103K aid approved

2005

Hurricane Katrina

112 households applied for aid $80K aid approved

2004

Hurricane Ivan

93 households applied for aid $106K 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. Pennington 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 Pennington’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Pennington. 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.