Natural hazards · Vivian

Vivian, WV natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Vivian comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Vivian?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Vivian to be higher than in 91% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding70%Cold waves24%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Vivian faces

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

Inland flooding

70% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

24% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat 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 Vivian flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Vivian 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.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Vivian

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into VivianDeclared for McDowell County only

2025

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

1 household applied for aid $8K aid approved

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides

1 household applied for aid $3K aid approved

2004

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides

1 household applied for aid $4K aid approved

McDowell County has had 23 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. Vivian 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 Vivian’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Vivian. 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.