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Grand Bay Historic DistrictGrand Bay Historic District · Photo: Citizens36541 · CC BY-SA 3.0
D−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Grand Bay · FEMA

FEMA puts Grand Bay’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 96% of U.S. towns, mostly from hurricanes

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Grand Bay gets a D− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns, #177 of 187 in Alabama. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (58%), then river and rain flooding (39%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

Hurricanes 58%River and rain flooding 39%Wildfire 1%

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

more than 96%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#177 of 187 in Alabama
Hazard risk
D−#177 of 187
in Alabama · higher than 96% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Hurricanes
58% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
8
of 32 declared for Mobile County
By hazard

What Grand Bay faces

Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.

Hurricanes

58%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

River and rain flooding

39%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Wildfire Tornadoes Earthquakes Hail Coastal flooding Strong wind Ice storms Lightning Winter storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Grand Bay’s grade

Hurricanes are 58% of the building damage FEMA expects in Grand Bay, and Grand Bay’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 1%, at a rate in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Grand Bay sits
Grand Bay
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D− #177 of 187 in Alabama; higher expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Grand Bay’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
Hurricanes58%River and rain flooding39%Everything else3%

The typical Alabama town has higher expected damage than 66% of U.S. towns; within the state, Grand Bay has more expected damage per building than 95% of Alabama towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.7M a year in losses across Grand Bay: $2.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Recent disaster.FEMA’s model looks at expected damage to the buildings standing today. After Hurricane Sally in 2020, FEMA took 950 aid registrations from Grand Bay addresses (the town has 1,881 homes).
Shared tract.All of Grand Bay’s 3,460 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Grand Bay flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Grand Bay. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Grand Bay isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Mobile County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
1flood-prone property bought out and cleared
1storm safe room built
Disasters

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Grand Bay

Disasters that paid out in Grand Bay itself (aid to households or repair grants to Grand Bay), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2023Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, and Tornadoes7 households applied for aid$23K aid approved
  2. 2020Hurricane Zeta176 households applied for aid$252K aid approved
  3. 2020Hurricane Sally950 households applied for aid$1.5M aid approved
  4. 2014Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding147 households applied for aid$143K aid approved
  5. 2005Hurricane Katrina3,551 households applied for aid$4.9M aid approved
  6. 2005Hurricane Dennis141 households applied for aid$73K aid approved
Show all 8
  1. 2004Hurricane Ivan1,633 households applied for aid$2.5M aid approved
  2. 2003Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding247 households applied for aid$255K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Grand BayMobile County only

Mobile County has had 32 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then severe storms.

Were you here?

Old photos of Grand Bay after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Grand Bay archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Grand Bay faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

Hurricane season
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Grand Bay

Is Grand Bay at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Grand Bay has higher expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk, #177 of 187 in Alabama. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (58%) and river and rain flooding (39%). 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 Grand Bay 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 Mobile County, 45% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 3.6% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Grand Bay?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Grand Bay’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 Grand Bay?

By FEMA money that reached Grand Bay, Hurricane Katrina (2005): 3,551 households applied for aid, $4.9M approved.

Is Grand Bay at risk from hurricanes?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (58%), and Grand Bay’s rate for it is in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Grand Bay.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Grand Bay’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.