Natural hazards · Cinco Bayou

Cinco Bayou, FL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cinco Bayou comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 1988. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Cinco Bayou?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cinco Bayou to be higher than in 84% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes67%Inland flooding16%Tornadoes7%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Cinco Bayou faces

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

Hurricanes

67% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

16% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 5% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Lower here

Coastal floodingHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

DroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Cinco Bayou flood?

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

4paid claims since 1988

$80Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19882026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Ivan: 1 claim, $61K
Hurricane Opal: 1 claim, $11K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Okaloosa County.

Disasters that hit Cinco Bayou

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Cinco BayouDeclared for Okaloosa County only

2014

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

$62K to the Town of Cinco Bayou for repairs

2005

Hurricane Dennis

$27K to the Town of Cinco Bayou for repairs

2004

Hurricane Ivan

$24K to the Town of Cinco Bayou for repairs

Okaloosa County has had 33 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.

Around Cinco Bayou

Cinco Bayou and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Cinco Bayoumostly hurricanesVery high

Fort Walton Beachmostly hurricanesVery high

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. Cinco Bayou 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 Cinco Bayou’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Cinco Bayou. 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.