Natural hazards · Hazel

Hazel, KY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Hazel comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Hazel?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Hazel to be higher than in 70% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes35%Inland flooding26%Tornadoes12%Cold waves10%Everything else18%

By hazard

What Hazel faces

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

Earthquakes

35% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

26% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 47% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 15 years in the area

Cold waves

10% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 36% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong 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 Hazel flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Calloway County.

Disasters that hit Hazel

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HazelDeclared for Calloway County only

2025

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

3 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

2024

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

2 households applied for aid $14K aid approved

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid

Calloway County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

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. Hazel 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 Hazel’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Hazel. 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.