Natural hazards · Cottondale

Cottondale, FL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cottondale 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 Cottondale?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cottondale to be higher than in 80% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes48%Inland flooding26%Cold waves7%Everything else19%

By hazard

What Cottondale 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 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Inland flooding

26% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce 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 Cottondale flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Jackson County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1buildings retrofitted against wind

Disasters that hit Cottondale

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CottondaleDeclared for Jackson County only

2018

Hurricane Michael

1,255 households applied for aid $1.7M aid approved $341K to the Town of Cottondale for repairs

2014

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

27 households applied for aid $28K aid approved

2009

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

15 households applied for aid $22K aid approved $7K to the Town of Cottondale for repairs

2005

Hurricane Dennis

$8K to the Town of Cottondale for repairs

2004

Hurricane Ivan

43 households applied for aid $115K aid approved

Jackson County has had 26 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. Cottondale 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 Cottondale’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Cottondale. 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.