Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Cherokee
Cherokee isn’t graded for hazard risk: FEMA’s tract figures aren’t matched to Cherokee yet. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2024.
What Cherokee 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
Earthquakes
Tornadoes
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.
Does Cherokee flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 2024
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Cherokee, from FEMA’s records.
Cherokee isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Colbert County.2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Cherokee
Disasters that paid out in Cherokee itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Cherokee), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2011Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding22 households applied for aid$18K aid approved$1K to the Town of Cherokee for repairs
- 2003Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding3 households applied for aid$3K aid approved
Colbert County has had 21 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms.
Old photos of Cherokee after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Cherokee archive →Get ready for what Cherokee 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
- 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 Cherokee
Does Cherokee flood?
Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Cherokee since 2024, $1K in all.
Is Cherokee 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 Colbert County, 11% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Cherokee?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Cherokee’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 Cherokee?
By FEMA money that reached Cherokee, Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding (2011): 22 households applied for aid, $18K approved, and $1K to the Town of Cherokee for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Cherokee.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Cherokee’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.