Craigsville’s biggest natural hazard is cold waves
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Craigsville comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Craigsville’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
What Craigsville faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Cold waves
Inland flooding
How exposed is Craigsville?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 31% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.
Calmer than 409 of the 438 West Virginia towns we cover.
Craigsville is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
Does Craigsville flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Craigsville. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Craigsville isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Nicholas County.6 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Craigsville
Disasters that paid out in Craigsville itself (aid to households or repair grants to Craigsville) and its biggest flood years.
- 2024Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides12 households applied for aid$37K aid approved
- 2016Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides77 households applied for aid$135K aid approved
- 2012Severe Storms and Straight-Line Winds109 households applied for aid$29K aid approved
- 2004Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides13 households applied for aid$4K aid approved
- 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides13 households applied for aid$23K aid approved
- 2003Severe Winter Storm, Record/Near Record Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and Landslides33 households applied for aid$26K aid approved
Nicholas County has had 21 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Old photos of Craigsville after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Craigsville archive →Get ready for what Craigsville actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
- Know where your water shutoff is.
- Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Keep a shovel, a blanket and snacks in the car.
- Clear snow from furnace and dryer vents.
- Check on older neighbors when the power goes out.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Disasters here can come any time of year
The month each of Nicholas County’s 21 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Craigsville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Craigsville.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Craigsville.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.