Natural hazards · St. Albans

St. Albans, WV natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in St. Albans comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 31 claims here since 1978. 11 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is St. Albans?

97
Very high
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in St. Albans to be higher than in 97% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding93%Everything else7%
By hazard

What St. Albans faces

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

Inland flooding

93% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 St. Albans flood?

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

31paid claims since 1978
$237Kpaid to owners
2homes flooded more than once
19782026

Biggest named events

  • Not a named storm: 4 claims, $2K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. St. Albans isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Kanawha County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

61flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters that hit St. Albans

11 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into St. AlbansDeclared for Kanawha County only
2024

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

27 households applied for aid $192K aid approved
2024

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

166 households applied for aid $368K aid approved
2023

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

5 households applied for aid
2021

Severe Storms and Flooding

39 households applied for aid $116K aid approved
2016

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

15 households applied for aid $27K aid approved
2012

Hurricane Sandy

$6K to the City of St. Albans for repairs
2012

Severe Storms and Straight-Line Winds

103 households applied for aid $32K aid approved $66K to the City of St. Albans for repairs
2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides

6 households applied for aid $14K aid approved
2004

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides

96 households applied for aid $212K aid approved
2003

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides

106 households applied for aid $256K aid approved $20K to the City of St. Albans for repairs
2003

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

12 households applied for aid $39K aid approved
Kanawha County has had 27 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around St. Albans

St. Albans and the towns around it

Jefferson: Very high, mostly inland floodingSouth Charleston: Very high, mostly inland floodingNitro: Very high, mostly inland floodingSt. Albans: Very high, mostly inland flooding St. AlbansJefferson
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
St. Albansmostly inland floodingVery high
Jeffersonmostly inland floodingVery high
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. St. Albans covers 3 census tracts, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to St. Albans’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of St. Albans. 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 St. Albans total about $5.7M 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01