Natural hazards · Crestview

Crestview, FL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Crestview comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 5 claims here since 1998. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Crestview?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Crestview to be higher than in 86% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes56%Inland flooding20%Tornadoes13%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Crestview faces

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

Hurricanes

56% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

20% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 46% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat 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 Crestview flood?

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

5paid claims since 1998

$177Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19982026

Biggest named events

Mid-spring storms: 2 claims, $17K
Hurricane Georges (Panhandle): 1 claim, $26K
Hurricane Sally: 1 claim, $9K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Crestview 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.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

12flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

2buildings retrofitted against wind

2storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Crestview

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CrestviewDeclared for Okaloosa County only

2022

Hurricane Ian

3 households applied for aid $700 aid approved

2020

Hurricane Sally

284 households applied for aid $333K aid approved $32K to the City of Crestview for repairs

2018

Hurricane Michael

2 households applied for aid $2K aid approved $44K to the City of Crestview for repairs

2014

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

402 households applied for aid $376K aid approved $243K to the City of Crestview for repairs

2009

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

47 households applied for aid $175K aid approved

2005

Hurricane Dennis

509 households applied for aid $233K aid approved $18K to the City of Crestview for repairs

2004

Hurricane Ivan

3,028 households applied for aid $2.1M aid approved $1.3M to the City of Crestview for repairs

Okaloosa County has had 33 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. Crestview covers 3 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Crestview’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Crestview. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Crestview total about $12.0M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.