Storms, floods and disasters in Cherry Valley
Cherry Valley isn’t graded for hazard risk: Cherry Valley has 543 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Cherry Valley faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Earthquakes
River and rain flooding
Tornadoes
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 Cherry Valley flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Cherry Valley. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Cherry Valley isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Cross County.7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Cherry Valley
Disasters that paid out in Cherry Valley itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Cherry Valley), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2025Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding$59K to the City of Cherry Valley for repairs
- 2023Severe Storms and Tornadoes8 households applied for aid$14K aid approved
- 2011Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Associated Flooding2 households applied for aid$8K aid approved
- 2009Severe Winter Storm$8K to the City of Cherry Valley for repairs
- 2006Severe Storms and Tornadoes4 households applied for aid$2K aid approved$1K to the City of Cherry Valley for repairs
- 2003Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding16 households applied for aid$37K aid approved
Show all 7
- 2000Severe Winter Ice Storm$10K to the City of Cherry Valley for repairs
Cross County has had 18 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Cherry Valley after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Cherry Valley archive →Get ready for what Cherry Valley faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
- 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 Cherry Valley
Is Cherry Valley 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 Cross County, 1.1% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Cherry Valley?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Cherry Valley’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 Cherry Valley?
By FEMA money that reached Cherry Valley, Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding (2025): $59K to the City of Cherry Valley for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Cherry Valley.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Cherry Valley’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.