FEMA puts Russell’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 86% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Russell gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (66%), then tornadoes (15%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What Russell 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
Tornadoes
Earthquakes
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.
What’s behind Russell’s grade
River and rain flooding is 66% of the building damage FEMA expects in Russell, and Russell’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 79% of U.S. census tracts. Lightning adds 2%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
A lower expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Russell’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $186K a year in losses across Russell: $115K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Russell flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Russell. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Russell isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Barrow County.The storms Russell remembers
None of the 10 disasters declared for Barrow County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Russell itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Barrow County has had 10 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Russell and its neighbors
Russell has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Russell | Aless damage than 86% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Winder | A−less damage than 75% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Russell 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.
- 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Russell
Is Russell at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Russell has lower expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (66%) and tornadoes (15%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Russell 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 Barrow County, 5% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Russell?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Russell’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Russell at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (66%), and Russell’s rate for it is lower than 79% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Russell.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Russell’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.