Natural hazards · St. Marys

St. Marys, WV natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in St. Marys comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 8 claims here since 1982. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is St. Marys?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in St. Marys to be higher than in 96% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding93%Everything else7%

By hazard

What St. Marys 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 once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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. Marys flood?

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

8paid claims since 1982

$119Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19822026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Ivan: 4 claims, $54K

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. Marys isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Pleasants County.

Disasters that hit St. Marys

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into St. MarysDeclared for Pleasants County only

2026

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

83 households applied for aid $184K aid approved

2012

Severe Storms and Straight-Line Winds

1 household applied for aid $17K to the City of St. Marys for repairs

2004

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides

82 households applied for aid $344K aid approved $13K to the City of St. Marys for repairs

Pleasants County has had 12 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. St. Marys 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 St. Marys’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of St. Marys. 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.