Photo: Rudi Weikard · CC BY-SA 3.0For tornadoes, Bessemer’s building-damage rate is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bessemer gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 55% of U.S. towns, #48 of 187 in Alabama. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (74%), then tornadoes (18%). Flood insurance has paid 239 claims here since 1978.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What stands out about Bessemer’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Bessemer faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Tornadoes
Earthquakes
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
What’s behind Bessemer’s grade
River and rain flooding is 74% of the building damage FEMA expects in Bessemer, and Bessemer’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 65% of U.S. census tracts. Tornadoes add 18%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
C+ #48 of 187 in Alabama; higher expected damage per building than 55% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Bessemer’s residents live in 16 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Alabama town has higher expected damage than 66% of U.S. towns; within the state, Bessemer has less expected damage per building than 75% of Alabama towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $10.5M a year in losses across Bessemer: $7.5M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Bessemer flood? Yes: 239 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Bessemer, from FEMA’s records: 18.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 83% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- Hurricane Ivan4 claims · $33K
- Hurricane Opal1 claim · $19K
- The Mid-spring storms1 claim · $954
Bessemer isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Jefferson County.12 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Bessemer
Disasters that paid out in Bessemer itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Bessemer), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2021Severe Storms and Flooding34 households applied for aid$41K aid approved
- 2021Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, and Tornadoes14 households applied for aid$8K aid approved
- 2014Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding953 households applied for aid$531K aid approved$1.9M to the City of Bessemer for repairs15 flood claims paid that year
- 2012Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding34 households applied for aid$118K aid approved1 flood claim paid that year
- 2011Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding841 households applied for aid$583K aid approved$108K to the City of Bessemer for repairs103 flood claims paid that year
- 2009Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Straight-line Winds$97K to the City of Bessemer for repairs
Show all 12
- 2005Hurricane Katrina$91K to the City of Bessemer for repairs
- 2005Hurricane Dennis$129K to the City of Bessemer for repairs
- 2004Hurricane Ivan1,160 households applied for aid$1.4M aid approved$155K to the City of Bessemer for repairs4 flood claims paid for it, $33K
- 2003Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding36 households applied for aid$66K aid approved1 flood claim paid that year
- 2002Severe Storms and Tornadoes8 households applied for aid$16K aid approved4 flood claims paid that year
- 2001Severe Storms and Flooding$367K to the City of Bessemer for repairs
Jefferson County has had 35 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms.
Also 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Jefferson County, 2000–2000.
Old photos of Bessemer after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Bessemer archive →Bessemer and its neighbors
Bessemer is 2nd of the 8 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| McCalla | B−less damage than 50% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
| Bessemer | C+more damage than 55% | river and rain flooding | 239 |
| Birmingham | C+more damage than 64% | river and rain flooding | 898 |
| Hoover | Cmore damage than 69% | river and rain flooding | 130 |
| Lipscomb | Cmore damage than 70% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Hueytown | C−more damage than 75% | river and rain flooding | 108 |
| Brighton | C−more damage than 75% | river and rain flooding | 18 |
| Helena | C−more damage than 77% | river and rain flooding | 14 |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Bessemer faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Bessemer
Is Bessemer at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bessemer has higher expected damage per building than 55% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk, #48 of 187 in Alabama. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (74%) and tornadoes (18%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Bessemer flood?
Flood insurance has paid 239 claims in Bessemer since 1978, $4.3M in all, or 18.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 83% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 21 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Ivan (4).
Is Bessemer in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Jefferson County, 13% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Bessemer?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Bessemer’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Bessemer?
By FEMA money that reached Bessemer, Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding (2014): 953 households applied for aid, $531K approved, and $1.9M to the City of Bessemer for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Ivan: 4 paid, $33K.
Is Bessemer at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (74%), and Bessemer’s rate for it is higher than 65% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bessemer.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Bessemer’s residents lived in the 2020 census; 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. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.