Allen House · Photo: Chris Pruitt · CC BY-SA 3.0More hazard damage per building is expected in Bon Secour than in 98% of U.S. towns, mostly from hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bon Secour gets a D− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (68%), then river and rain flooding (25%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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 Bon Secour faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
River and rain flooding
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 Bon Secour’s grade
Hurricanes are 68% of the building damage FEMA expects in Bon Secour, and Bon Secour’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 3%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
D− #186 of 187 in Alabama; higher expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Bon Secour’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical Alabama town has higher expected damage than 66% of U.S. towns; within the state, Bon Secour has more expected damage per building than 99% of Alabama towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.4M a year in losses across Bon Secour: $1.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Bon Secour flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Bon Secour. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Bon Secour isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Baldwin County.5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Bon Secour
Disasters that paid out in Bon Secour itself (aid to households or repair grants to Bon Secour), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2020Hurricane Sally121 households applied for aid$163K aid approved
- 2014Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding11 households applied for aid$29K aid approved
- 2005Hurricane Katrina31 households applied for aid$46K aid approved
- 2005Hurricane Dennis6 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
- 2004Hurricane Ivan204 households applied for aid$361K aid approved
Baldwin County has had 31 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then severe storms.
Old photos of Bon Secour after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Bon Secour archive →Get ready for what Bon Secour faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- 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.
- 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 Bon Secour
Is Bon Secour at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bon Secour has higher expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (68%) and river and rain flooding (25%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Bon Secour 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 Baldwin County, 64% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 9.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Bon Secour?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Bon Secour’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 Bon Secour?
By FEMA money that reached Bon Secour, Hurricane Ivan (2004): 204 households applied for aid, $361K approved.
Is Bon Secour at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (68%), and Bon Secour’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bon Secour.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Bon Secour’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.