Natural hazards · Bancroft

Bancroft, WV natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bancroft comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2013. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bancroft?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bancroft to be higher than in 96% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding92%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Bancroft faces

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

Inland flooding

92% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Bancroft flood?

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

2paid claims since 2013

$28Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20132026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Putnam County.

Disasters that hit Bancroft

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BancroftDeclared for Putnam County only

2024

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

5 households applied for aid $4K aid approved

2003

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides

1 household applied for aid

Putnam County has had 18 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. Bancroft 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 Bancroft’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Bancroft. 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.