Ezel’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ezel comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Ezel’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Ezel flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Ezel. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Ezel isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Morgan County.How exposed is Ezel?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 67% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.
Calmer than 289 of the 553 Kentucky towns we cover.
Ezel is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
What Ezel faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Tornadoes
Wildfire
3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Ezel
Disasters that paid out in Ezel itself (aid to households or repair grants to Ezel) and its biggest flood years.
- 2012Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds and Flooding63 households applied for aid$92K aid approved
- 2004Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and Mudslides14 households applied for aid$13K aid approved
- 2003Severe Winter Ice and Snow Storms, Heavy Rain, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Mud and1 household applied for aid$2K aid approved
Morgan County has had 30 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Old photos of Ezel after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Ezel archive →Get ready for what Ezel actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Most disasters here begin in January–March
The month each of Morgan County’s 30 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Ezel’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Ezel.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Ezel.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.