Natural hazards · Shorter

Shorter, AL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Shorter comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Shorter?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding49%Drought18%Tornadoes10%Hurricanes7%Heat waves5%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Shorter faces

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

Inland flooding

49% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Drought

18% of expected damage

Recorded about 47 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 11 years in the area

Hurricanes

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Heat waves

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 58% of U.S. places

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Shorter flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Macon County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Shorter

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ShorterDeclared for Macon County only

2004

Hurricane Ivan

213 households applied for aid $355K aid approved

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

14 households applied for aid $4K aid approved

Macon County has had 23 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.

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