Natural hazards · Cincinnati

Cincinnati, AR natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cincinnati comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Cincinnati?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cincinnati to be higher than in 55% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and heat waves.

Inland flooding38%Heat waves23%Ice storms10%Tornadoes9%Wildfire8%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Cincinnati faces

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

Inland flooding

38% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 51% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Heat waves

23% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Ice storms

10% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 53% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 13 years in the area

Wildfire

8% of expected damage

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

Lower here

HurricanesHailWinter weatherCold wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Cincinnati flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Cincinnati 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 Cincinnati

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Washington County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Cincinnati itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into CincinnatiDeclared for Washington County only

Washington County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

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