Welch-Averiett House · Photo: Rivers Langley; SaveRivers · CC BY-SA 3.0More hazard damage per building is expected in Fayetteville than in 94% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Fayetteville gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%). 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 Fayetteville 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 Fayetteville’s grade
River and rain flooding is 90% of the building damage FEMA expects in Fayetteville, and Fayetteville’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts. Tornadoes add 6%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Fayetteville’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.1M a year in losses across Fayetteville: $937K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Fayetteville flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Fayetteville. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Fayetteville isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Talladega County.The storms Fayetteville remembers
None of the 22 disasters declared for Talladega County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Fayetteville itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Talladega County has had 22 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then severe storms.
Fayetteville and its neighbors
Fayetteville is 2nd of the 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sylacauga | C+more damage than 57% | river and rain flooding | 15 |
| Fayetteville | Dmore damage than 94% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
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 Fayetteville 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 Fayetteville
Is Fayetteville at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Fayetteville has higher expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (90%) and tornadoes (6%). 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 Fayetteville 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 Talladega County, 14% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.9% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Fayetteville?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Fayetteville’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Fayetteville at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (90%), and Fayetteville’s rate for it is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Fayetteville.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Fayetteville’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.