Natural hazards · Sylvester

Sylvester, WV natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sylvester comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 15 claims here since 1978. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Sylvester?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sylvester to be higher than in 99% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding94%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Sylvester faces

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

Inland flooding

94% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningAvalanches

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 Sylvester flood?

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

15paid claims since 1978

$84Kpaid to owners

3homes flooded more than once

19782026

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

Insurance rates: Boone County.

Disasters that hit Sylvester

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SylvesterDeclared for Boone County only

2024

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

2 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

2024

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

3 households applied for aid $12K aid approved

2012

Severe Storms and Straight-Line Winds

2 households applied for aid $683 aid approved

2003

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides

34 households applied for aid $67K aid approved

Boone County has had 24 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. Sylvester 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 Sylvester’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Sylvester. 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.