Natural hazards · Steele

Steele, AL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Steele comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Steele?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Steele to be higher than in 66% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding51%Tornadoes28%Cold waves5%Everything else16%

By hazard

What Steele 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

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

28% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 15 years in the area

Cold waves

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Steele flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: St. Clair County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

7storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Steele

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SteeleDeclared for St. Clair County only

2011

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

4 households applied for aid $22K aid approved

2004

Hurricane Ivan

2 households applied for aid $821 aid approved

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid

2002

Severe Storms and Tornadoes

1 household applied for aid

St. Clair County has had 28 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. Steele 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 Steele’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Steele. 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.