On FEMA’s figures, Pine Knot faces less hazard damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Pine Knot gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (59%), then tornadoes (12%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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
What Pine Knot 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
Wildfire
Earthquakes
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.
What’s behind Pine Knot’s grade
River and rain flooding is 59% of the building damage FEMA expects in Pine Knot, and Pine Knot’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 73% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 7%, at a rate in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.
B+ lower expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Pine Knot’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $405K a year in losses across Pine Knot: $227K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Pine Knot flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Pine Knot. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Pine Knot isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: McCreary County.The storms Pine Knot remembers
None of the 16 disasters declared for McCreary County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Pine Knot itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
McCreary County has had 16 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.
Also 2 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in McCreary County, 2000–2001.
Pine Knot and its neighbors
Pine Knot is 2nd of the 2 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stearns | A−less damage than 77% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Pine Knot | B+less damage than 72% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
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.
Get ready for what Pine Knot 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.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Pine Knot
Is Pine Knot at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Pine Knot has lower expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (59%) and tornadoes (12%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Pine Knot 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 McCreary County, 3% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Pine Knot?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Pine Knot’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Pine Knot at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (59%), and Pine Knot’s rate for it is lower than 73% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Pine Knot.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Pine Knot’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.