Natural hazards · Mount Sterling

Mount Sterling, KY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Mount Sterling comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 44 claims here since 1989. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Mount Sterling?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Mount Sterling to be higher than in 22% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding55%Tornadoes15%Strong wind9%Cold waves5%Earthquakes5%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Mount Sterling faces

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

Inland flooding

55% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places

Strong wind

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Cold waves

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Earthquakes

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Mount Sterling flood?

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

44paid claims since 1989

$1.3Mpaid to owners

11homes flooded more than once

19892026

Biggest named events

Late summer storms: 1 claim, $4K

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. Mount Sterling isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Montgomery County.

Disasters that hit Mount Sterling

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Mount SterlingDeclared for Montgomery County only

2012

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds and Flooding

2 households applied for aid

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Tornadoes

117 households applied for aid $231K aid approved

2009

Severe Winter Storm and Flooding

$52K to the City of Mount Sterling for repairs

2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and Mudslides

9 households applied for aid $25K aid approved

Montgomery County has had 22 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.

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