Natural hazards · Williamsburg

Williamsburg, KY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Williamsburg comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 9 claims here since 1984. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Williamsburg?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Williamsburg to be higher than in 40% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding61%Tornadoes10%Cold waves8%Earthquakes7%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Williamsburg faces

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

Inland flooding

61% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 53% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 46 years in the area

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Earthquakes

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong 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 Williamsburg flood?

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

9paid claims since 1984

$114Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19842026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Whitley County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Williamsburg

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WilliamsburgDeclared for Whitley County only

2024

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

29 households applied for aid $150K aid approved

2022

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

211 households applied for aid $99K aid approved

2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and Mudslides

19 households applied for aid $22K aid approved

Whitley County has had 33 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. Williamsburg 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 Williamsburg’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Williamsburg. 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.