Photo: Robert Donovan from Franklin, TN, USA · CC BY 2.0For tornadoes, Mountain Brook’s building-damage rate is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Mountain Brook gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns, #71 of 187 in Alabama. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (76%), then tornadoes (16%). Flood insurance has paid 110 claims here since 1979.
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 stands out about Mountain Brook’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Mountain Brook 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
Earthquakes
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 Mountain Brook’s grade
River and rain flooding is 76% of the building damage FEMA expects in Mountain Brook, and Mountain Brook’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 70% of U.S. census tracts. Tornadoes add 16%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
C+ #71 of 187 in Alabama; higher expected damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Mountain Brook’s residents live in 13 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Alabama town has higher expected damage than 66% of U.S. towns; within the state, Mountain Brook has less expected damage per building than 62% of Alabama towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $11.0M a year in losses across Mountain Brook: $8.4M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Mountain Brook flood? Yes: 110 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Mountain Brook, from FEMA’s records: 12.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 77% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- Hurricane Opal5 claims · $135K
- Hurricane Ivan3 claims · $21K
Mountain Brook isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Jefferson County.7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Mountain Brook
Disasters that paid out in Mountain Brook itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Mountain Brook), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2011Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding$271K to the City of Mountain Brook for repairs2 flood claims paid that year
- 2009Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Straight-line Winds$12K to the City of Mountain Brook for repairs2 flood claims paid that year
- 2005Hurricane Katrina$121K to the City of Mountain Brook for repairs
- 2005Hurricane Dennis$34K to the City of Mountain Brook for repairs
- 2004Hurricane Ivan$68K to the City of Mountain Brook for repairs3 flood claims paid for it, $21K
- 2003Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding$37K to the City of Mountain Brook for repairs3 flood claims paid that year
Show all 7
- 2001Severe Storms and Flooding$222K to the City of Mountain Brook for repairs
Jefferson County has had 35 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms.
Also 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Jefferson County, 2000–2000.
Old photos of Mountain Brook after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Mountain Brook archive →Mountain Brook and its neighbors
Mountain Brook is 3rd of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Irondale | B−less damage than 51% | river and rain flooding | 11 |
| Homewood | B−more damage than 53% | river and rain flooding | 84 |
| Mountain Brook | C+more damage than 62% | river and rain flooding | 110 |
| Birmingham | C+more damage than 64% | river and rain flooding | 898 |
| Vestavia Hills | Cmore damage than 69% | river and rain flooding | 69 |
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 Mountain Brook 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Mountain Brook
Is Mountain Brook at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Mountain Brook has higher expected damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk, #71 of 187 in Alabama. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (76%) and tornadoes (16%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Mountain Brook flood?
Flood insurance has paid 110 claims in Mountain Brook since 1979, $3.3M in all, or 12.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 77% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 19 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Opal (5).
Is Mountain Brook 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 Jefferson County, 13% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Mountain Brook?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Mountain Brook’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 Mountain Brook?
By FEMA money that reached Mountain Brook, Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding (2011): $271K to the City of Mountain Brook for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Opal: 5 paid, $135K.
Is Mountain Brook at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (76%), and Mountain Brook’s rate for it is higher than 70% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Mountain Brook.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Mountain Brook’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.