Natural hazards · Cairo

Cairo, WV natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cairo comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 15 claims here since 1978. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Cairo?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cairo to be higher than in 95% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding93%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Cairo 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 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 Cairo flood?

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

15paid claims since 1978

$59Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Not a named storm: 1 claim, $8K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Ritchie County.

Disasters that hit Cairo

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CairoDeclared for Ritchie County only

2015

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

$9K to the Town of Cairo for repairs

2015

Severe Winter Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

$28K to the Town of Cairo for repairs

2012

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides

$8K to the Town of Cairo for repairs

2003

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides

1 household applied for aid $5K aid approved

2000

Flooding, Severe Storms, and Landslides

$35K to the Town of Cairo for repairs

Ritchie County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter 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. Cairo 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 Cairo’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Cairo. 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.