Natural hazards · Vinegar Bend

Vinegar Bend, AL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Vinegar Bend comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Vinegar Bend?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Vinegar Bend to be higher than in 87% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes33%Inland flooding26%Tornadoes18%Cold waves6%Strong wind6%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Vinegar Bend faces

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

Hurricanes

33% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Inland flooding

26% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

18% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Vinegar Bend flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Washington County.

Disasters that hit Vinegar Bend

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Vinegar Bend itself: aid to households, or repair grants to Vinegar Bend.

Brought FEMA money into Vinegar BendDeclared for Washington County only

2020

Hurricane Zeta

72 households applied for aid $173K aid approved

2011

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

14 households applied for aid $46K aid approved

2005

Hurricane Katrina

166 households applied for aid $314K aid approved

2004

Hurricane Ivan

74 households applied for aid $88K aid approved

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

14 households applied for aid $28K aid approved

Washington County has had 22 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. Vinegar Bend 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 Vinegar Bend’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Vinegar Bend. 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.