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Mobile, Alabama skylinePhoto: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0
DHazard risk
Natural hazards in Mobile · FEMA

More hazard damage per building is expected in Mobile than in 93% of U.S. towns, mostly from hurricanes

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Mobile gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns, #168 of 187 in Alabama. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (66%), then river and rain flooding (29%). Flood insurance has paid 4,186 claims here since 1978.

Hurricanes 66%River and rain flooding 29%Coastal flooding 2%

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 93%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#168 of 187 in Alabama
Hazard risk
D#168 of 187
in Alabama · higher than 93% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Hurricanes
66% of expected building damage
Flood claims
4,186
paid since 1978 · $136M
Flooded more than once
525
properties · 111 “severe repetitive loss”
Disasters paid out here
16
of 32 declared for Mobile County

What stands out about Mobile’s natural hazards

From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.

4,186 paid flood claims since 1978$136M in all; 525 properties flooded more than once. More per home than 91% of U.S. towns.Made safer with FEMA grants133 flood-prone properties bought out and cleared; 12 buildings retrofitted against wind; 1 storm safe room built; 1 building floodproofed with FEMA grants.Remembers 20051,013 flood claims were paid for 2005 alone, the most of any year.
By hazard

What Mobile faces

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

Hurricanes

66%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

River and rain flooding

29%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Coastal flooding top 4% Tornadoes Earthquakes Hail Wildfire 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 Mobile’s grade

Hurricanes are 66% of the building damage FEMA expects in Mobile, and Mobile’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 2%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Mobile sits
Mobile
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D #168 of 187 in Alabama; higher expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns (21,298).

Mobile’s residents live in 81 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.

What drives the damage to buildings
Hurricanes66%River and rain flooding29%Everything else4%

The typical Alabama town has higher expected damage than 66% of U.S. towns; within the state, Mobile has more expected damage per building than 90% of Alabama towns.

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Mobile has higher expected damage per building than 88% (#351 of 400). Because it is so big, its total expected yearly loss, $142M, is the 67th largest of those 400.

Recent disaster.FEMA’s model looks at expected damage to the buildings standing today. After Hurricane Sally in 2020, FEMA took 30,416 aid registrations from Mobile addresses (the town has 98,380 homes).
A firm figure. It combines 81 census tracts by where Mobile’s residents live. FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims and disasters below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Mobile flood? Yes: 4,186 flood claims since 1978

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Mobile, from FEMA’s records: 42.5 per 1,000 homes, more than 91% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1978: 25 claims1979: 310 claims1980: 464 claims1981: 946 claims1982: 9 claims1983: 117 claims1984: 6 claims1985: 10 claims1986: 0 claims1987: 4 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 10 claims1990: 24 claims1991: 7 claims1992: 1 claim1993: 10 claims1994: 1 claim1995: 8 claims1996: 4 claims1997: 159 claims1998: 583 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 2 claims2001: 9 claims2002: 76 claims2003: 13 claims2004: 75 claims2005: 1,013 claims2006: 2 claims2007: 4 claims2008: 33 claims2009: 62 claims2010: 13 claims2011: 1 claim2012: 15 claims2013: 3 claims2014: 50 claims2015: 22 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 35 claims2018: 4 claims2019: 9 claims2020: 27 claims2021: 6 claims2022: 3 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 1 claim2025: 10 claims2026: 0 claims198119982005
19782026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Katrina963 claims · $82.0M
  • Hurricane Georges366 claims · $9.9M
  • Hurricane Frederic260 claims · $3.2M
4,186
paid claims since 1978
$136M
paid to owners
525
homes flooded more than once
$33K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
Each house = 9 homesFEMA “severe repetitive loss” (111)Flooded 2+ times
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Mobile 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
133flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
12buildings retrofitted against wind
1storm safe room built
1building floodproofed
Disasters

16 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Mobile

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

  1. 2023Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, and Tornadoes325 households applied for aid$331K aid approved
  2. 2020Hurricane Zeta9,042 households applied for aid$12.0M aid approved$5.6M to the City of Mobile for repairs
  3. 2020Hurricane Sally30,416 households applied for aid$48.5M aid approved$8.5M to the City of Mobile for repairs
  4. 2018Hurricane Michael$9K to the City of Mobile for repairs4 flood claims paid that year
  5. 2017Hurricane Nate$273K to the City of Mobile for repairs
  6. 2017Hurricane Irma$40K to the City of Mobile for repairs
Show all 16
  1. 2014Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding8,764 households applied for aid$6.5M aid approved$621K to the City of Mobile for repairs50 flood claims paid that year
  2. 2012Hurricane Isaac$358K to the City of Mobile for repairs15 flood claims paid that year
  3. 2008Hurricane Gustav$189K to the City of Mobile for repairs33 flood claims paid that year
  4. 2005Hurricane Katrina5 households applied for aid$4K aid approved963 flood claims paid for it, $82.0M
  5. 2005Hurricane Katrina53,794 households applied for aid$57.3M aid approved$5.3M to the City of Mobile for repairs963 flood claims paid for it, $82.0M
  6. 2005Hurricane Dennis5,395 households applied for aid$1.1M aid approved$897K to the City of Mobile for repairs
  7. 2004Hurricane Jeanne2 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
  8. 2004Hurricane Ivan32,681 households applied for aid$31.9M aid approved$4.1M to the City of Mobile for repairs68 flood claims paid for it, $794K
  9. 2003Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding17,931 households applied for aid$22.1M aid approved13 flood claims paid that year
  10. 2002Tropical Storm Isidore$166K to the City of Mobile for repairs72 flood claims paid for it, $900K
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in MobileMobile 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 Mobile after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Mobile archive →
Next door

Mobile and its neighbors

Mobile is 5th of the 9 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Tillmans Corner: hazard risk DPrichard: hazard risk DChickasaw: hazard risk DTheodore: hazard risk DSaraland: hazard risk D−Semmes: hazard risk DSpanish Fort: hazard risk D−Satsuma: hazard risk D−Tillmans CornerPrichardChickasawTheodoreSaralandSemmesSpanish FortSatsumaMobile
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
SemmesDmore damage than 91%hurricanes2
TheodoreDmore damage than 92%hurricanes23
PrichardDmore damage than 92%hurricanes136
Tillmans CornerDmore damage than 93%hurricanes10
MobileDmore damage than 93%hurricanes4,186
ChickasawDmore damage than 94%hurricanes181
SatsumaD−more damage than 95%hurricanes85
SaralandD−more damage than 96%river and rain flooding311
Spanish FortD−more damage than 96%hurricanes21

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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Mobile 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 Mobile

Is Mobile at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Mobile has higher expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk, #168 of 187 in Alabama. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (66%) and river and rain flooding (29%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Does Mobile flood?

Flood insurance has paid 4,186 claims in Mobile since 1978, $136M in all, or 42.5 per 1,000 homes, more than 91% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 525 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Katrina (963).

Is Mobile 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 Mobile?

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

By FEMA money that reached Mobile, Hurricane Katrina (2005): 53,794 households applied for aid, $57.3M approved, and $5.3M to the City of Mobile for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Katrina: 963 paid, $82.0M.

Is Mobile at risk from hurricanes?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (66%), and Mobile’s rate for it is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Mobile.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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