Photo: Nyttend · Public domainStorms, floods and disasters in Elkhorn City
Elkhorn City isn’t graded for hazard risk: Elkhorn City has 846 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 1984.
What Elkhorn City 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
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 Elkhorn City flood? Rarely: 4 flood claims since 1984
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Elkhorn City, from FEMA’s records.
Elkhorn City isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Pike County.8 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Elkhorn City
Disasters that paid out in Elkhorn City itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Elkhorn City), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2025Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides308 households applied for aid$2.3M aid approved
- 2022Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides133 households applied for aid$291K aid approved
- 2011Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding10 households applied for aid$45K aid approved
- 2010Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides75 households applied for aid$234K aid approved
- 2009Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding and Mudslides14 households applied for aid$44K aid approved
- 2004Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and Mudslides16 households applied for aid$13K aid approved
Show all 8
- 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock Slides, and Tornadoes20 households applied for aid$13K aid approved
- 2003Severe Winter Ice and Snow Storms, Heavy Rain, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Mud and17 households applied for aid$33K aid approved
Pike County has had 39 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.
Also 4 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Pike County, 1999–2016.
Old photos of Elkhorn City after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Elkhorn City archive →Get ready for what Elkhorn City 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.
- 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 Elkhorn City
Does Elkhorn City flood?
Flood insurance has paid 4 claims in Elkhorn City since 1984, $28K in all.
Is Elkhorn City 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 Pike County, 21% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 3.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Elkhorn City?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Elkhorn City’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 Elkhorn City?
By FEMA money that reached Elkhorn City, Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2025): 308 households applied for aid, $2.3M approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Elkhorn City.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Elkhorn City’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.