Photo: The Bushranger · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Cottondale
Cottondale isn’t graded for hazard risk: Cottondale has 822 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Cottondale faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
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 Cottondale flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Cottondale. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Cottondale isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Jackson County.5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Cottondale
Disasters that paid out in Cottondale itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Cottondale), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2018Hurricane Michael1,255 households applied for aid$1.7M aid approved$341K to the Town of Cottondale for repairs
- 2014Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding27 households applied for aid$28K aid approved
- 2009Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Straight-line Winds15 households applied for aid$22K aid approved$7K to the Town of Cottondale for repairs
- 2005Hurricane Dennis$8K to the Town of Cottondale for repairs
- 2004Hurricane Ivan43 households applied for aid$115K aid approved
Jackson County has had 24 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 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Jackson County, 1999–1999.
Old photos of Cottondale after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Cottondale archive →Get ready for what Cottondale 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.
- 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 Cottondale
Is Cottondale 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 Jackson County, 14% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Cottondale?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Cottondale’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 Cottondale?
By FEMA money that reached Cottondale, Hurricane Michael (2018): 1,255 households applied for aid, $1.7M approved, and $341K to the Town of Cottondale for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Cottondale.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Cottondale’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.