Natural hazards · Chaplin

Chaplin, KY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Chaplin comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Chaplin?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Chaplin to be higher than in 65% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding62%Tornadoes10%Strong wind9%Cold waves8%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Chaplin faces

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

Inland flooding

62% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 20 years in the area

Strong wind

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Chaplin flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Nelson County.

Disasters that hit Chaplin

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ChaplinDeclared for Nelson County only

2025

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

1 household applied for aid $12K aid approved

Nelson County has had 21 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter 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. Chaplin 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 Chaplin’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Chaplin. 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.