Natural hazards · Big Chimney

Big Chimney, WV natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Big Chimney comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Big Chimney?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Big Chimney to be higher than in 92% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding93%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Big Chimney faces

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

Inland flooding

93% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 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 Big Chimney flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Big Chimney.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Kanawha County.

Disasters that hit Big Chimney

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Big Chimney itself: aid to households, or repair grants to Big Chimney.

Brought FEMA money into Big ChimneyDeclared for Kanawha County only

2012

Severe Storms and Straight-Line Winds

1 household applied for aid

2003

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides

1 household applied for aid $5K aid approved

Kanawha County has had 27 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe 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. Big Chimney 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 Big Chimney’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Big Chimney. 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.