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Broadway - Paducah, KentuckyPhoto: Farragutful · CC BY-SA 4.0
DHazard risk
Natural hazards in Paducah · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Paducah faces more hazard damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns, led by earthquakes

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Paducah gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns, #134 of 142 in Kentucky. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (48%), then river and rain flooding (43%). Flood insurance has paid 67 claims here since 1979.

Earthquakes 48%River and rain flooding 43%Tornadoes 3%

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 93%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#134 of 142 in Kentucky
Hazard risk
D#134 of 142
in Kentucky · higher than 93% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Earthquakes
48% of expected building damage
Flood claims
67
paid since 1979 · $1.2M
Flooded more than once
14
properties · 1 “severe repetitive loss”
Disasters paid out here
3
of 18 declared for McCracken County

What stands out about Paducah’s natural hazards

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

Made safer with FEMA grants30 flood-prone properties bought out and cleared; 1 storm safe room built with FEMA grants.Remembers 201518 flood claims were paid for 2015 alone, the most of any year.
By hazard

What Paducah faces

Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.

Earthquakes

48%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts

River and rain flooding

43%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Ice storms top 3% Hail Strong wind Winter storms top 2% Hurricanes Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves Landslides Lightning
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Paducah’s grade

Earthquakes are 48% of the building damage FEMA expects in Paducah, and Paducah’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 2%, at a rate in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Paducah sits
Paducah
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D #134 of 142 in Kentucky; higher expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns (21,298).

Paducah’s residents live in 14 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.

What drives the damage to buildings
Earthquakes48%River and rain flooding43%Tornadoes3%Everything else6%

The typical Kentucky town has higher expected damage than 52% of U.S. towns; within the state, Paducah has more expected damage per building than 94% of Kentucky towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $36.1M a year in losses across Paducah: $21.8M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

A firm figure. It combines 14 census tracts by where Paducah’s 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 Paducah flood? Sometimes: 67 flood claims since 1979

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Paducah, from FEMA’s records: 4.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 59% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1979: 1 claim1980: 0 claims1981: 0 claims1982: 0 claims1983: 6 claims1984: 1 claim1985: 9 claims1986: 1 claim1987: 0 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 0 claims1990: 1 claim1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 1 claim1997: 9 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 1 claim2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 1 claim2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 2 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 4 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 8 claims2014: 1 claim2015: 18 claims2016: 1 claim2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 1 claim2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 1 claim198519972015
19792026
Biggest named events
  • The Mid-spring storms4 claims · $175K
67
paid claims since 1979
$1.2M
paid to owners
14
homes flooded more than once
$17K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1)Flooded 2+ times
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: McCracken County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
30flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
1storm safe room built
Disasters

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Paducah

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

  1. 2025Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides148 households applied for aid$910K aid approved
  2. 2011Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding313 households applied for aid$3.4M aid approved4 flood claims paid that year
  3. 2005Hurricane Katrina1 households applied for aid$4K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in PaducahMcCracken County only

McCracken County has had 18 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 Paducah after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Paducah archive →
Next door

Paducah and its neighbors

Paducah is 3rd of the 4 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Hendron: hazard risk C−Massac: hazard risk C−Farley: hazard risk D−HendronMassacFarleyPaducah
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
MassacC−more damage than 82%earthquakes1
HendronC−more damage than 85%earthquakes2
PaducahDmore damage than 93%earthquakes67
FarleyD−more damage than 98%river and rain flooding7

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 Paducah faces

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

Earthquakes
  • Drop, cover and hold on.
  • Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
  • Know how to shut off the gas.
More from Ready.gov ↗
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 Paducah

Is Paducah at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Paducah has higher expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk, #134 of 142 in Kentucky. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (48%) and river and rain flooding (43%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Does Paducah flood?

Flood insurance has paid 67 claims in Paducah since 1979, $1.2M in all, or 4.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 59% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 14 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Mid-spring storms (4).

Is Paducah 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 McCracken County, 23% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.7% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Paducah?

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

By FEMA money that reached Paducah, Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding (2011): 313 households applied for aid, $3.4M approved. By flood claims, Mid-spring storms: 4 paid, $175K.

Is Paducah at risk from earthquakes?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (48%), and Paducah’s rate for it is in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Paducah.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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