Natural hazards · Buchtel

Buchtel, OH natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Buchtel comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 2012. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Buchtel?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Buchtel to be higher than in 89% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding88%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Buchtel faces

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

Inland flooding

88% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Buchtel flood?

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

4paid claims since 2012

$114Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

20122026

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Athens County.

Disasters that hit Buchtel

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BuchtelDeclared for Athens County only

2012

Severe Storms and Straight-Line Winds

$375 to the Village of Buchtel for repairs

2004

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides

1 household applied for aid $14K to the Village of Buchtel for repairs

2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $6K aid approved

Athens County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Buchtel

Buchtel and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Buchtelmostly inland floodingVery high

Nelsonvillemostly inland floodingVery high

Yorkmostly inland floodingVery high

Wardmostly inland floodingVery high

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. Buchtel 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 Buchtel’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Buchtel. 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.