Roderfield’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Roderfield comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Roderfield’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Roderfield flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Roderfield. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Roderfield isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: McDowell County.How exposed is Roderfield?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 94% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.
Rated higher than 327 of the 438 West Virginia towns we cover.
Roderfield is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
What Roderfield faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Cold waves
7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Roderfield
Disasters that paid out in Roderfield itself (aid to households or repair grants to Roderfield) and its biggest flood years.
- 2025Severe Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides33 households applied for aid$204K aid approved
- 2012Severe Storms and Straight-Line Winds1 household applied for aid
- 2010Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides11 households applied for aid$22K aid approved
- 2009Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides16 households applied for aid$9K aid approved
- 2004Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides7 households applied for aid$27K aid approved
- 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides11 households applied for aid$20K aid approved
Show all 7
- 2003Severe Winter Storm, Record/Near Record Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and Landslides8 households applied for aid$16K aid approved
McDowell County has had 23 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Old photos of Roderfield after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Roderfield archive →Get ready for what Roderfield actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
- Know where your water shutoff is.
- Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
- 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.
Most disasters here begin in March–May
The month each of McDowell County’s 23 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 Roderfield’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Roderfield.
- 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 Roderfield.
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.