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Lovern and Main, HazardPhoto: Nyttend · Public domain
D−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Hazard · FEMA

FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Hazard than in 97% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Hazard gets a D− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns, #140 of 142 in Kentucky. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (96%). Flood insurance has paid 272 claims here since 1978.

River and rain flooding 96%Tornadoes 1%Hail 1%

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

more than 97%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#140 of 142 in Kentucky
Hazard risk
D−#140 of 142
in Kentucky · higher than 97% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
96% of expected building damage
Flood claims
272
paid since 1978 · $3.9M
Flooded more than once
25
properties · 3 “severe repetitive loss”
Disasters paid out here
16
of 40 declared for Perry County

What stands out about Hazard’s natural hazards

From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.

272 paid flood claims since 1978$3.9M in all; 25 properties flooded more than once. More per home than 97% of U.S. towns.Moved out of harm’s way65 flood-prone properties bought out and cleared with FEMA grants.Remembers 1984167 flood claims were paid for 1984 alone, the most of any year.
By hazard

What Hazard 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

96%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Hail Earthquakes Strong wind Hurricanes Wildfire Winter storms Ice storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides Lightning Avalanches top 1%
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingTsunamisVolcanic activity

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Hazard’s grade

River and rain flooding is 96% of the building damage FEMA expects in Hazard, and Hazard’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Hazard sits
Hazard
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D− #140 of 142 in Kentucky; higher expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns (21,298).

Hazard’s residents live in 5 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding96%Everything else4%

The typical Kentucky town has higher expected damage than 52% of U.S. towns; within the state, Hazard has more expected damage per building than 99% of Kentucky towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $6.3M a year in losses across Hazard: $4.7M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Recent disaster.FEMA’s model looks at expected damage to the buildings standing today. After Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides in 2022, FEMA took 1,309 aid registrations from Hazard addresses (the town has 2,346 homes).
A small-area figure. Hazard covers 5 census tracts, combined by where residents live. FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims and disasters below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Hazard flood? Yes: 272 flood claims since 1978

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Hazard, from FEMA’s records: 115.9 per 1,000 homes, more than 97% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1978: 2 claims1979: 0 claims1980: 0 claims1981: 1 claim1982: 0 claims1983: 0 claims1984: 167 claims1985: 0 claims1986: 0 claims1987: 0 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 37 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 1 claim1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 3 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 0 claims1997: 4 claims1998: 9 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 4 claims2003: 9 claims2004: 1 claim2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 1 claim2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 3 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 2 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 1 claim2021: 3 claims2022: 4 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 20 claims2026: 0 claims198419892025
19782026
Biggest named events
  • The February Kentucky Flooding19 claims · $875K
  • The Late July Flooding4 claims · $109K
272
paid claims since 1978
$3.9M
paid to owners
25
homes flooded more than once
$14K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (3)Flooded 2+ times
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Hazard isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Perry County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
65flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters

16 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Hazard

Disasters that paid out in Hazard itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Hazard), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2025Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides660 households applied for aid$3.9M aid approved$704K to the City of Hazard for repairs20 flood claims paid that year
  2. 2022Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides1,309 households applied for aid$8.7M aid approved$4.2M to the City of Hazard for repairs4 flood claims paid that year
  3. 2021Severe, Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides50 households applied for aid$86K aid approved
  4. 2021Severe Winter Storms, Landslides, and Mudslides$17K to the City of Hazard for repairs
  5. 2020Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$36K to the City of Hazard for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
  6. 2019Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$292K to the City of Hazard for repairs
Show all 16
  1. 2018Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$68K to the City of Hazard for repairs2 flood claims paid that year
  2. 2015Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslide18 households applied for aid$31K aid approved
  3. 2015Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$75K to the City of Hazard for repairs
  4. 2015Severe Winter Storms, Snowstorms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$38K to the City of Hazard for repairs
  5. 2011Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding64 households applied for aid$165K aid approved$23K to the City of Hazard for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
  6. 2004Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and Mudslides112 households applied for aid$157K aid approved$19K to the City of Hazard for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
  7. 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock Slides, and Tornadoes178 households applied for aid$260K aid approved$45K to the City of Hazard for repairs
  8. 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock Slides, and Tornadoes58 households applied for aid$108K aid approved$85K to the City of Hazard for repairs
  9. 2003Severe Winter Ice and Snow Storms, Heavy Rain, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Mud and57 households applied for aid$114K aid approved$14K to the City of Hazard for repairs
  10. 2002Severe Storms and Flooding$6K to the City of Hazard for repairs4 flood claims paid that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in HazardPerry County only

Perry County has had 40 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.

Were you here?

Old photos of Hazard after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Hazard archive →
Next door

Hazard and its neighbors

Hazard has the lowest expected damage per building of the 1 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Combs: not gradedDiablock: not gradedCombsDiablockHazard
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
HazardD−more damage than 97%river and rain flooding272
Combs—64 residents; we grade 1,000+
Diablock—315 residents; we grade 1,000+

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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Hazard faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Hazard

Is Hazard at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Hazard has higher expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk, #140 of 142 in Kentucky. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (96%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Does Hazard flood?

Flood insurance has paid 272 claims in Hazard since 1978, $3.9M in all, or 115.9 per 1,000 homes, more than 97% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 25 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from February Kentucky Flooding (19).

Is Hazard 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 Perry County, 16% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 2.0% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Hazard?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Hazard’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 Hazard?

By FEMA money that reached Hazard, Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2022): 1,309 households applied for aid, $8.7M approved, and $4.2M to the City of Hazard for repairs. By flood claims, February Kentucky Flooding: 19 paid, $875K.

Is Hazard at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (96%), and Hazard’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Hazard.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Hazard’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.