Natural hazards · Hickory

Hickory, KY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Hickory comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Hickory?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Hickory to be higher than in 81% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes.

Earthquakes58%Inland flooding15%Cold waves6%Tornadoes5%Everything else16%

By hazard

What Hickory faces

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

Earthquakes

58% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

15% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 30% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 11 years 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 Hickory flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Graves County.

Disasters that hit Hickory

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HickoryDeclared for Graves County only

2021

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

101 households applied for aid $4K aid approved

2003

Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock Slides, and Tornadoes

3 households applied for aid $5K aid approved

Graves County has had 18 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. Hickory 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 Hickory’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Hickory. 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.