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Natural hazards · Valley Head

Valley Head, AL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Valley Head comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2014. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Valley Head?

74
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Valley Head to be higher than in 74% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding65%Cold waves11%Tornadoes10%Everything else14%
By hazard

What Valley Head faces

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

Inland flooding

65% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

11% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 58% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 13 years 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 Valley Head flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Valley Head, from FEMA’s records.

1paid claims since 2014
$39Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
20142026

Biggest named events

  • Mid-spring storms: 1 claim, $39K
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Valley Head 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

18storm safe rooms built
Disasters that hit Valley Head

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Valley HeadDeclared for DeKalb County only
2020

Severe Thunderstorms

$63K to the Town of Valley Head for repairs
2014

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

9 households applied for aid $673 aid approved $122K to the Town of Valley Head for repairs
2011

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

128 households applied for aid $315K aid approved
2010

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

1 household applied for aid $273 aid approved $9K to the Town of Valley Head for repairs
2004

Hurricane Ivan

1 household applied for aid
2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

9 households applied for aid $5K aid approved $18K to the Town of Valley Head for repairs
2000

Severe Winter Storms

$15K to the Town of Valley Head for repairs
DeKalb County has had 32 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.
Around Valley Head

Valley Head and the towns around it

Fort Payne: Low, mostly inland floodingHammondville: High, mostly inland floodingMentone: High, mostly inland floodingPine Ridge: Low, mostly inland floodingValley Head: High, mostly inland flooding Valley HeadFort PayneHammondvilleMentone
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Valley Headmostly inland floodingHigh
Hammondvillemostly inland floodingHigh
Mentonemostly inland floodingHigh
Fort Paynemostly inland floodingLow
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. Valley Head 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 Valley Head’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Valley Head. 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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