FEMA puts Brooks’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 81% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Brooks gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 81% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (81%), then tornadoes (10%). 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 Brooks 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
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 Brooks’ grade
River and rain flooding is 81% of the building damage FEMA expects in Brooks, and Brooks’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 86% of U.S. census tracts. Tornadoes add 10%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
C− higher expected damage per building than 81% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Brooks’ residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.8M a year in losses across Brooks: $1.3M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Brooks flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Brooks. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Brooks isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Bullitt County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Brooks
Disasters that paid out in Brooks itself (aid to households or repair grants to Brooks), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2025Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides3 households applied for aid$31K aid approved
- 2022Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides1 households applied for aid$500 aid approved
- 2004Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and Mudslides1 households applied for aid$401 aid approved
Bullitt County has had 21 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 Brooks after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Brooks archive →Brooks and its neighbors
Brooks is 2nd of the 2 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hillview | Bless damage than 55% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Brooks | C−more damage than 81% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
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 Brooks 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.
- 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 Brooks
Is Brooks at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Brooks has higher expected damage per building than 81% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (81%) and tornadoes (10%). 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 Brooks 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 Bullitt County, 23% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Brooks?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Brooks’ 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 Brooks?
By FEMA money that reached Brooks, Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2025): 3 households applied for aid, $31K approved.
Is Brooks at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (81%), and Brooks’ rate for it is higher than 86% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Brooks.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Brooks’ 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.