Photo: Brian Stansberry (photographer) · CC BY 4.0FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Rector than in 90% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Rector gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (62%), then river and rain flooding (20%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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 Rector 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.
What’s behind Rector’s grade
Earthquakes are 62% of the building damage FEMA expects in Rector, and Rector’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts. Tornadoes add 10%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Rector’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.4M a year in losses across Rector: $966K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Rector flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Rector. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Rector isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Clay County.7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Rector
Disasters that paid out in Rector itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Rector), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2025Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding19 households applied for aid$41K aid approved
- 2015Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding$10K to the City of Rector for repairs
- 2011Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Associated Flooding2 households applied for aid$7K aid approved
- 2009Severe Winter Storm$282K to the City of Rector for repairs
- 2008Tropical Storm Ike$67K to the City of Rector for repairs
- 2006Severe Storms and Tornadoes4 households applied for aid$7K aid approved
Show all 7
- 2002Severe Ice Storm$36K to the City of Rector for repairs
Clay County has had 20 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 Rector after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Rector archive →Get ready for what Rector 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 Rector
Is Rector at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Rector has higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (62%) and river and rain flooding (20%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Rector 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 Clay County, 8% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Rector?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Rector’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 Rector?
By FEMA money that reached Rector, Severe Winter Storm (2009): $282K to the City of Rector for repairs.
Is Rector at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (62%), and Rector’s rate for it is in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Rector.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Rector’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.