Photo: formulanone from Huntsville, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Storms, floods and disasters in Bradley Junction
Bradley Junction isn’t graded for hazard risk: Bradley Junction has 631 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Bradley Junction faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
Wildfire
River and rain flooding
Strong wind
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 Bradley Junction flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Bradley Junction. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Bradley Junction isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Polk County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Bradley Junction
Disasters that paid out in Bradley Junction itself (aid to households or repair grants to Bradley Junction), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2022Hurricane Ian3 households applied for aid$1K aid approved
- 2017Hurricane Irma4 households applied for aid$1K aid approved
- 2004Hurricane Jeanne1 households applied for aid$3K aid approved
Polk County has had 27 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Also 5 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Polk County, 1999–2017.
Old photos of Bradley Junction after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Bradley Junction archive →Get ready for what Bradley Junction faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- 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.
- Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
- Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
- Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
- 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 Bradley Junction
Is Bradley Junction 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 Polk County, 37% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 2.6% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Bradley Junction?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Bradley Junction’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 Bradley Junction?
By FEMA money that reached Bradley Junction, Hurricane Jeanne (2004): 1 households applied for aid, $3K approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bradley Junction.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Bradley Junction’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.