Natural hazards · Kingwood

Kingwood, WV natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Kingwood comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Kingwood?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Kingwood to be higher than in 7% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding70%Strong wind9%Tornadoes7%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Kingwood faces

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

Inland flooding

70% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 22% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Strong wind

9% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 37% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtTsunamisVolcanic 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 Kingwood flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Preston County.

Disasters that hit Kingwood

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into KingwoodDeclared for Preston County only

2012

Severe Storms and Straight-Line Winds

$30K to the City of Kingwood for repairs

2012

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides

1 household applied for aid

2003

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides

1 household applied for aid $389 aid approved

2003

Severe Winter Storm, Record/Near Record Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and Landslides

$5K to the City of Kingwood for repairs

Preston County has had 20 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. Kingwood 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 Kingwood’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Kingwood. 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.