Natural hazards · Bristol

Bristol, FL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bristol comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bristol?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bristol to be higher than in 89% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes48%Inland flooding23%Lightning10%Tornadoes8%Cold waves6%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Bristol faces

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

Hurricanes

48% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

23% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Lightning

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 67% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHailWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windDrought

Not a risk here

Ice stormsAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Bristol flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Liberty County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

4flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

3buildings retrofitted against wind

Disasters that hit Bristol

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BristolDeclared for Liberty County only

2020

Hurricane Sally

$14K to the City of Bristol for repairs

2018

Hurricane Michael

1,123 households applied for aid $1.1M aid approved $499K to the City of Bristol for repairs

2009

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

17 households applied for aid $40K aid approved

2008

Tropical Storm Fay

7 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

2005

Hurricane Dennis

1 household applied for aid $836 aid approved

2004

Hurricane Ivan

73 households applied for aid $182K aid approved

Liberty County has had 32 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. Bristol 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 Bristol’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Bristol. 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.