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Natural hazards · Sylvania

Sylvania, AL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sylvania comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Sylvania?

49
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sylvania to be higher than in 49% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding43%Tornadoes15%Cold waves13%Earthquakes12%Strong wind6%Everything else11%
By hazard

What Sylvania faces

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

Inland flooding

43% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 61% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 62% of U.S. places

Cold waves

13% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Earthquakes

12% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Strong wind

6% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Sylvania flood?

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

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

What’s been done with FEMA grants

9storm safe rooms built
Disasters that hit Sylvania

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SylvaniaDeclared for DeKalb County only
2015

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

$7K to the Town of Sylvania for repairs
2014

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

1 household applied for aid
2011

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

56 households applied for aid $34K aid approved $59K to the Town of Sylvania for repairs
2010

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

1 household applied for aid
2009

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

$37K to the Town of Sylvania for repairs
2004

Hurricane Ivan

$1K to the Town of Sylvania for repairs
2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $12K to the Town of Sylvania for repairs
DeKalb County has had 32 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.
Around Sylvania

Sylvania and the towns around it

Rainsville: Moderate, mostly inland floodingPine Ridge: Low, mostly inland floodingShiloh: Moderate, mostly inland floodingPowell: High, mostly inland floodingSylvania: Moderate, mostly inland flooding SylvaniaRainsville
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Sylvaniamostly inland floodingModerate
Rainsvillemostly 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. Sylvania 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 Sylvania’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Sylvania. 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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