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D−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Spanish Fort · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Spanish Fort faces more hazard damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns, mostly from hurricanes

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Spanish Fort gets a D− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns, #179 of 187 in Alabama. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (77%), then river and rain flooding (16%). Flood insurance has paid 21 claims here since 2004.

Hurricanes 77%River and rain flooding 16%Coastal flooding 3%

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#179 of 187 in Alabama
Hazard risk
D−#179 of 187
in Alabama · higher than 96% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Hurricanes
77% of expected building damage
Flood claims
21
paid since 2004 · $1.8M
Flooded more than once
5
properties · 1 “severe repetitive loss”
Disasters paid out here
8
of 31 declared for Baldwin County

What stands out about Spanish Fort’s natural hazards

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

Coastal flooding: the top 2% of U.S. tractsFEMA’s building-damage rate for coastal flooding here ranks in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts; it is 3.4% of the damage it expects.Made safer with FEMA grants2 storm safe rooms built; 1 building retrofitted against wind with FEMA grants.Remembers 20056 flood claims were paid for 2005 alone, the most of any year.
By hazard

What Spanish Fort faces

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

Hurricanes

77%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

River and rain flooding

16%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 63% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Coastal flooding top 2% Tornadoes Wildfire Earthquakes Hail Strong wind Ice storms Winter storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides Lightning
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 Spanish Fort’s grade

Hurricanes are 77% of the building damage FEMA expects in Spanish Fort, and Spanish Fort’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 3%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Spanish Fort sits
Spanish Fort
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D− #179 of 187 in Alabama; higher expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns (21,298).

Spanish Fort’s residents live in 4 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.

What drives the damage to buildings
Hurricanes77%River and rain flooding16%Coastal flooding3%Everything else4%

The typical Alabama town has higher expected damage than 66% of U.S. towns; within the state, Spanish Fort has more expected damage per building than 96% of Alabama towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $9.2M a year in losses across Spanish Fort: $8.1M 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 748 aid registrations from Spanish Fort addresses (the town has 4,719 homes).
A small-area figure. Spanish Fort covers 4 census tracts, combined by where 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 Spanish Fort flood? Sometimes: 21 flood claims since 2004

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Spanish Fort, from FEMA’s records: 4.5 per 1,000 homes, more than 57% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2004: 4 claims2005: 6 claims2006: 1 claim2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 2 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 4 claims2015: 1 claim2016: 0 claims2017: 1 claim2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 2 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims200420052014
20042026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Katrina5 claims · $1.4M
  • Hurricane Ivan4 claims · $88K
  • The Mid-spring storms3 claims · $106K
21
paid claims since 2004
$1.8M
paid to owners
5
homes flooded more than once
$88K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1)Flooded 2+ times
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Baldwin County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
2storm safe rooms built
1building retrofitted against wind
Disasters

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Spanish Fort

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

  1. 2020Hurricane Sally748 households applied for aid$594K aid approved$1.2M to the City of Spanish Fort for repairs2 flood claims paid that year
  2. 2014Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding96 households applied for aid$71K aid approved$91K to the City of Spanish Fort for repairs4 flood claims paid that year
  3. 2009Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes and Straight-line$53K to the City of Spanish Fort for repairs
  4. 2005Hurricane Katrina496 households applied for aid$767K aid approved$281K to the City of Spanish Fort for repairs5 flood claims paid for it, $1.4M
  5. 2005Hurricane Dennis77 households applied for aid$22K aid approved$19K to the City of Spanish Fort for repairs
  6. 2004Hurricane Ivan586 households applied for aid$568K aid approved$618K to the City of Spanish Fort for repairs4 flood claims paid for it, $88K
Show all 8
  1. 2003Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding88 households applied for aid$161K aid approved
  2. 2002Tropical Storm Isidore$5K to the City of Spanish Fort for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Spanish FortBaldwin County only

Baldwin County has had 31 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then severe storms.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Spanish Fort archive →
Next door

Spanish Fort and its neighbors

Spanish Fort is 4th of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Daphne: hazard risk D−Loxley: hazard risk D−Mobile: hazard risk DStapleton: hazard risk D−DaphneLoxleyMobileStapletonSpanish Fort
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
MobileDmore damage than 93%hurricanes4,186
StapletonD−more damage than 96%hurricanes—
LoxleyD−more damage than 96%hurricanes10
Spanish FortD−more damage than 96%hurricanes21
DaphneD−more damage than 96%hurricanes75

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 Spanish Fort 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 Spanish Fort

Is Spanish Fort at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Spanish Fort has higher expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk, #179 of 187 in Alabama. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (77%) and river and rain flooding (16%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Does Spanish Fort flood?

Flood insurance has paid 21 claims in Spanish Fort since 2004, $1.8M in all, or 4.5 per 1,000 homes, more than 57% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 5 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Katrina (5).

Is Spanish Fort 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 Baldwin County, 64% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 9.2% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Spanish Fort?

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

By FEMA money that reached Spanish Fort, Hurricane Sally (2020): 748 households applied for aid, $594K approved, and $1.2M to the City of Spanish Fort for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Katrina: 5 paid, $1.4M.

Is Spanish Fort at risk from hurricanes?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (77%), and Spanish Fort’s rate for it is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Spanish Fort.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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