Natural hazards · McDowell

McDowell, KY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in McDowell comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is McDowell?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in McDowell to be higher than in 100% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding99%Everything else1%

By hazard

What McDowell faces

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

Inland flooding

99% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtTsunamisVolcanic 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 McDowell flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Floyd County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

5flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit McDowell

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into McDowellDeclared for Floyd County only

2025

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

1 household applied for aid $23K aid approved

2022

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

1 household applied for aid $11K aid approved

2021

Severe, Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

2 households applied for aid $3K aid approved

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $494 aid approved

2009

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding and Mudslides

25 households applied for aid $17K aid approved

Floyd County has had 43 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. McDowell 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 McDowell’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to McDowell. 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.