Photo: User:akampfer · CC BY-SA 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Mackay
Mackay isn’t graded for hazard risk: Mackay has 602 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1997.
What Mackay 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
Earthquakes
Wildfire
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 Mackay flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 1997
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Mackay, from FEMA’s records.
Mackay isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Custer County.The storms Mackay remembers
None of the 4 disasters declared for Custer County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Mackay itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19971 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms, Snowmelt, Land/mud Slides, Flooding, declared for Custer County
Custer County has had 4 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Mackay after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Mackay archive →Get ready for what Mackay 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- 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 Mackay
Does Mackay flood?
Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Mackay since 1997, $2K in all.
Is Mackay 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 Custer County, 0.4% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Mackay?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Mackay’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Mackay.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Mackay’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.