Natural hazards · Elkins

Elkins, WV natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Elkins comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 184 claims here since 1978. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Elkins?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Elkins to be higher than in 87% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding94%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Elkins faces

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

Inland flooding

94% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHeat wavesDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Elkins flood?

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

184paid claims since 1978

$1.7Mpaid to owners

40homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

April 2007 Nor'easter: 1 claim, $5K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (14) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Randolph County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

34flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

12homes raised above flood level

Disasters that hit Elkins

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ElkinsDeclared for Randolph County only

2012

Hurricane Sandy

$74K to the City of Elkins for repairs

2012

Severe Storms and Straight-Line Winds

$22K to the City of Elkins for repairs

2009

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$14K to the City of Elkins for repairs

2000

Flooding, Severe Storms, and Landslides

$24K to the City of Elkins for repairs

Randolph County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods 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. Elkins covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Elkins’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Elkins. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Elkins total about $2.8M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.