William Whitley House State Shrine · Public domainStorms, floods and disasters in Crab Orchard
Crab Orchard isn’t graded for hazard risk: Crab Orchard has 739 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Crab Orchard 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
Hail
Strong wind
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 Crab Orchard flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Crab Orchard. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Crab Orchard isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Lincoln County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Crab Orchard
Disasters that paid out in Crab Orchard itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Crab Orchard), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2025Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides4 households applied for aid$16K aid approved
- 2021Severe, Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides3 households applied for aid$3K aid approved
- 2010Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Tornadoes20 households applied for aid$51K aid approved
Lincoln County has had 23 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Crab Orchard after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Crab Orchard archive →Get ready for what Crab Orchard 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.
- Park in a garage or under cover when storms are forecast.
- Stay away from windows while it falls.
- Photograph roof and car damage for your insurer.
- Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
- Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
- Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
- 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 Crab Orchard
Is Crab Orchard 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 Lincoln County, 6% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Crab Orchard?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Crab Orchard’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 Crab Orchard?
By FEMA money that reached Crab Orchard, Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Tornadoes (2010): 20 households applied for aid, $51K approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Crab Orchard.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Crab Orchard’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.