Photo: Bubba73 · CC BY-SA 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Bartow
Bartow isn’t graded for hazard risk: Bartow has 199 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Bartow faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Hurricanes
Earthquakes
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 Bartow flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Bartow. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Bartow isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Jefferson County.4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Bartow
Disasters that paid out in Bartow itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Bartow), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Hurricane Helene528 households applied for aid$729K aid approved$67K to the Town of Bartow for repairs
- 2017Hurricane Irma$5K to the Town of Bartow for repairs
- 2014Severe Winter Storm$8K to the Town of Bartow for repairs
- 2008Severe Storms and Tornadoes6 households applied for aid$3K aid approved
Jefferson County has had 12 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 Bartow after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Bartow archive →Get ready for what Bartow faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Bartow
Is Bartow 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 Jefferson County, 18% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Bartow?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Bartow’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 Bartow?
By FEMA money that reached Bartow, Hurricane Helene (2024): 528 households applied for aid, $729K approved, and $67K to the Town of Bartow for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bartow.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Bartow’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.