Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Millstone

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
Natural hazards in Millstone · FEMA

Storms, floods and disasters in Millstone

Millstone isn’t graded for hazard risk: Millstone has 317 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.

Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
6
of 35 declared for Letcher County
By hazard

What Millstone 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

95%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Wildfire Earthquakes Hail Tornadoes Strong wind Hurricanes 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.
Flood insurance claims

Does Millstone flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Millstone. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Letcher County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
15flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Millstone

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

  1. 2025Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides23 households applied for aid$115K aid approved
  2. 2022Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides124 households applied for aid$1.8M aid approved
  3. 2021Severe, Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides5 households applied for aid$19K aid approved
  4. 2004Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and Mudslides2 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
  5. 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock Slides, and Tornadoes5 households applied for aid$5K aid approved
  6. 2003Severe Winter Ice and Snow Storms, Heavy Rain, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Mud and1 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in MillstoneLetcher County only

Letcher County has had 35 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 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Letcher County, 2016–2016.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Millstone archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Millstone 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 Millstone

Is Millstone 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 Letcher County, 9% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.4% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Millstone?

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

By FEMA money that reached Millstone, Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2022): 124 households applied for aid, $1.8M approved.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Millstone.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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