Storms, floods and disasters in Blythe
Blythe isn’t graded for hazard risk: Blythe has 806 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Blythe 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 Blythe flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Blythe. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Blythe isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Richmond County.2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Blythe
Disasters that paid out in Blythe itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Blythe), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Hurricane Helene850 households applied for aid$1.5M aid approved$645K to the City of Blythe for repairs
- 2014Severe Winter Storm$42K to the City of Blythe for repairs
Richmond County has had 9 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Blythe after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Blythe archive →Get ready for what Blythe 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 Blythe
Is Blythe 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 Richmond County, 34% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.9% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Blythe?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Blythe’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 Blythe?
By FEMA money that reached Blythe, Hurricane Helene (2024): 850 households applied for aid, $1.5M approved, and $645K to the City of Blythe for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Blythe.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Blythe’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.