Natural hazards · Monterey

Monterey, KY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Monterey comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 57 claims here since 1978. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Monterey?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Monterey to be higher than in 75% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding66%Tornadoes18%Strong wind8%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Monterey faces

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

Inland flooding

66% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

18% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 12 years in the area

Strong wind

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Monterey flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Monterey, from FEMA’s records.

57paid claims since 1978

$905Kpaid to owners

5homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Not a named storm: 5 claims, $33K
Central U.S. April Flooding: 4 claims, $163K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Owen County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Monterey

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MontereyDeclared for Owen County only

2025

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

3 households applied for aid $20K aid approved

Owen County has had 20 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. Monterey 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 Monterey’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Monterey. 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.