Natural hazards · Wewahitchka

Wewahitchka, FL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Wewahitchka comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 19 claims here since 1978. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Wewahitchka?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Wewahitchka to be higher than in 98% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes64%Inland flooding21%Tornadoes5%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Wewahitchka faces

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

Hurricanes

64% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

21% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Tornadoes

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 62% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 29 years in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHailWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Wewahitchka flood?

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

19paid claims since 1978

$277Kpaid to owners

3homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Alberto: 2 claims, $36K

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. Wewahitchka isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Gulf County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

12flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

5buildings retrofitted against wind

1storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Wewahitchka

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WewahitchkaDeclared for Gulf County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

15 households applied for aid $15K aid approved

2020

Hurricane Sally

1 household applied for aid

2018

Hurricane Michael

2,065 households applied for aid $3.0M aid approved $1.7M to the City of Wewahitchka for repairs

2009

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

1 household applied for aid

2005

Hurricane Dennis

55 households applied for aid $22K aid approved

2004

Hurricane Ivan

60 households applied for aid $143K aid approved

Gulf County has had 38 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. Wewahitchka 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 Wewahitchka’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Wewahitchka. 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.