Natural hazards · Spelter

Spelter, WV natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Spelter comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Spelter?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Spelter to be higher than in 81% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding90%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Spelter faces

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

Inland flooding

90% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDroughtAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingTsunamisVolcanic 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 Spelter flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Harrison County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Spelter

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SpelterDeclared for Harrison County only

2012

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides

1 household applied for aid

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Mudslides, and

2 households applied for aid $5K aid approved

Harrison 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. Spelter 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 Spelter’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Spelter. 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.