Storms, floods and disasters in Laurel Hill
Laurel Hill isn’t graded for hazard risk: Laurel Hill has 355 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Laurel Hill 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
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 Laurel Hill flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Laurel Hill. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Laurel Hill isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Okaloosa County.6 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Laurel Hill
Disasters that paid out in Laurel Hill itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Laurel Hill), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2020Hurricane Sally25 households applied for aid$19K aid approved
- 2017Hurricane Irma1 households applied for aid$500 aid approved
- 2014Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding25 households applied for aid$30K aid approved
- 2009Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Straight-line Winds23 households applied for aid$50K aid approved$32K to the City of Laurel Hill for repairs
- 2005Hurricane Dennis38 households applied for aid$11K aid approved$22K to the City of Laurel Hill for repairs
- 2004Hurricane Ivan402 households applied for aid$443K aid approved$53K to the City of Laurel Hill for repairs
Okaloosa County has had 32 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.
Old photos of Laurel Hill after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Laurel Hill archive →Get ready for what Laurel Hill 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.
- 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 Laurel Hill
Is Laurel Hill 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 Okaloosa County, 74% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 10.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Laurel Hill?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Laurel Hill’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 Laurel Hill?
By FEMA money that reached Laurel Hill, Hurricane Ivan (2004): 402 households applied for aid, $443K approved, and $53K to the City of Laurel Hill for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Laurel Hill.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Laurel Hill’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.