Madisonville’s biggest natural hazard is earthquakes
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Madisonville comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 25 claims here since 1991. 13 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Madisonville’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Madisonville flood? Sometimes: 25 flood claims since 1991
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Madisonville, from FEMA’s records.
- The February Kentucky Flooding1 claim · $9K
- The Storm1 claim · $4K
Madisonville isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Hopkins County.13 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Madisonville
Disasters that paid out in Madisonville itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Madisonville) and its biggest flood years.
- 2025Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides57 households applied for aid$261K aid approved
- 2024Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Landslides, and Mudslides40 households applied for aid$16K aid approved
- 2023Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$118K to the City of Madisonville for repairs
- 2021Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, and Tornadoes484 households applied for aid$615K aid approved
- 2010Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Tornadoes20 households applied for aid$15K aid approved
- 2009Severe Winter Storm and Flooding$2.0M to the City of Madisonville for repairs
Show all 13
- 2008Severe Wind Storm Associated With Tropical Depression Ike$353K to the City of Madisonville for repairs5 flood claims paid that year
- 2008Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides$49K to the City of Madisonville for repairs
- 2008Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and5 households applied for aid$4K aid approved
- 2005Severe Storms and Tornadoes225 households applied for aid$247K aid approved
- 2004Severe Winter Storm and Record Snow$36K to the City of Madisonville for repairs
- 2004Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and Mudslides9 households applied for aid$7K aid approved
- 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock Slides, and Tornadoes2 households applied for aid$4K aid approved
Hopkins County has had 25 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.
Old photos of Madisonville after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Madisonville archive →How exposed is Madisonville?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 66% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.
Calmer than 291 of the 553 Kentucky towns we cover.
Madisonville covers 4 census tracts, combined by population.
What Madisonville faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Earthquakes
Inland flooding
Tornadoes
Ice storms
Strong wind
Get ready for what Madisonville actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
- 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.
Madisonville and its neighbors
How storm and flood risk compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Rating | Mostly | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earlington | High | inland flooding | 3 |
| Madisonville | High | earthquakes | 25 |
Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Disasters here can come any time of year
The month each of Hopkins County’s 25 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 Madisonville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Madisonville.
- 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. Across Madisonville, expected losses total about $8.1M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Madisonville.
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.