Natural hazards · Paducah

Paducah, KY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Paducah comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 67 claims here since 1979. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Paducah?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Paducah to be higher than in 91% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes47%Inland flooding30%Heat waves7%Tornadoes6%Cold waves5%Everything else5%

By hazard

What Paducah faces

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

Earthquakes

47% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

30% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Heat waves

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 61% of U.S. places

Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Cold waves

5% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 46% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesStrong 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 Paducah flood?

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

67paid claims since 1979

$1.2Mpaid to owners

14homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Mid-spring storms: 4 claims, $175K

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

Insurance rates: McCracken County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

30flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

1storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Paducah

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PaducahDeclared for McCracken County only

2025

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

148 households applied for aid $910K aid approved

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

313 households applied for aid $3.4M aid approved

McCracken County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Paducah

Paducah and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Farleymostly inland floodingVery high

Paducahmostly earthquakesVery high

Hendronmostly earthquakesVery high

Massacmostly earthquakesHigh

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. Paducah covers 6 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Paducah’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Paducah. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Paducah total about $25.4M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.