Storms, floods and disasters in Alicia
Alicia isn’t graded for hazard risk: Alicia has 138 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Alicia 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
Earthquakes
Tornadoes
Ice storms
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.
Does Alicia flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Alicia. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Alicia isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Lawrence County.4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Alicia
Disasters that paid out in Alicia itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Alicia), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2025Severe Storms and Tornadoes2 households applied for aid$14K aid approved
- 2017Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding7 households applied for aid$32K aid approved
- 2011Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Associated Flooding10 households applied for aid$76K aid approved
- 2009Severe Winter Storm$13K to the Town of Alicia for repairs
Lawrence County has had 18 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Alicia after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Alicia archive →Get ready for what Alicia 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
- Ice brings down trees and lines: plan for days without power.
- Run a generator outside, far from doors and windows.
- Keep sand or salt by the door.
- 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 Alicia
Is Alicia 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 Lawrence County, 11% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Alicia?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Alicia’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 Alicia?
By FEMA money that reached Alicia, Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Associated Flooding (2011): 10 households applied for aid, $76K approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Alicia.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Alicia’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.