FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Choccolocco than in 74% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Choccolocco gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns, #129 of 187 in Alabama. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (75%), then tornadoes (18%). 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 Choccolocco 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
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 Choccolocco’s grade
River and rain flooding is 75% of the building damage FEMA expects in Choccolocco, and Choccolocco’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts. Tornadoes add 18%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
C #129 of 187 in Alabama; higher expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Choccolocco’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, Choccolocco has more expected damage per building than 69% of Alabama towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.4M a year in losses across Choccolocco: $993K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Choccolocco flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Choccolocco. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Choccolocco isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Calhoun County.The storms Choccolocco remembers
None of the 20 disasters declared for Calhoun County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Choccolocco itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Calhoun County has had 20 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms.
Get ready for what Choccolocco 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.
- 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 Choccolocco
Is Choccolocco at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Choccolocco has higher expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk, #129 of 187 in Alabama. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (75%) and tornadoes (18%). 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 Choccolocco 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 Calhoun County, 16% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Choccolocco?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Choccolocco’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Choccolocco at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (75%), and Choccolocco’s rate for it is higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Choccolocco.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Choccolocco’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.