Photo: Kybluegrass · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Stearns than in 77% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Stearns gets an A− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 77% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (58%), then tornadoes (13%). 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 Stearns 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
Earthquakes
Hail
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 Stearns’ grade
River and rain flooding is 58% of the building damage FEMA expects in Stearns, and Stearns’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 78% of U.S. census tracts. Strong wind adds 6%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
A− lower expected damage per building than 77% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Stearns’ residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $379K a year in losses across Stearns: $203K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Stearns flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Stearns. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Stearns 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 Stearns remembers
None of the 16 disasters declared for McCreary County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Stearns 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.
Stearns and its neighbors
Stearns has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stearns | A−less damage than 77% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Pine Knot | B+less damage than 72% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Whitley City | — | 963 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.
Get ready for what Stearns 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- Park in a garage or under cover when storms are forecast.
- Stay away from windows while it falls.
- Photograph roof and car damage for your insurer.
- 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 Stearns
Is Stearns at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Stearns has lower expected damage per building than 77% of U.S. towns: A− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (58%) and tornadoes (13%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Stearns 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 Stearns?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Stearns’ flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Stearns at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (58%), and Stearns’ rate for it is lower than 78% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Stearns.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Stearns’ 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.