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B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Watterson Park · FEMA

FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Watterson Park than in 74% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Watterson Park gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (72%), then tornadoes (13%). Flood insurance has paid 42 claims here since 1989.

River and rain flooding 72%Tornadoes 13%Earthquakes 13%

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

less than 74%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
B+
in Kentucky · lower than 74% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
72% of expected building damage
Flood claims
42
paid since 1989 · $931K
Flood claims per home
97 per 1,000
more than 96% of U.S. towns

What stands out about Watterson Park’s natural hazards

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

Lower expected damage than 74% of U.S. townsFEMA’s model of yearly storm and flood damage per dollar of building.Remembers 201515 flood claims were paid for 2015 alone, the most of any year.
By hazard

What Watterson Park 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

72%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 61% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

13%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts

Earthquakes

13%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 76% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Hail Ice storms Strong wind Winter storms 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 Watterson Park’s grade

River and rain flooding is 72% of the building damage FEMA expects in Watterson Park, and Watterson Park’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 61% of U.S. census tracts. Next is tornadoes at 13% (higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Watterson Park sits
Watterson Park
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ lower expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Watterson Park’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding72%Tornadoes13%Earthquakes13%Everything else2%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $862K a year in losses across Watterson Park: $718K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Watterson Park’s 1,004 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Watterson Park flood? Sometimes: 42 flood claims since 1989

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Watterson Park, from FEMA’s records: 96.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 96% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1989: 1 claim1990: 0 claims1991: 1 claim1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 1 claim1995: 1 claim1996: 1 claim1997: 1 claim1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 8 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 1 claim2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 10 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 15 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 2 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims200620132015
19892026
Biggest named events
  • The Late summer storms1 claim · $18K
42
paid claims since 1989
$931K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$22K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Jefferson County.
Disasters

The storms Watterson Park remembers

None of the 18 disasters declared for Jefferson County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Watterson Park itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 201515 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, declared for Jefferson County
  2. 201310 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
  3. 20068 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Watterson ParkJefferson County only

Jefferson 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 Watterson Park after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Watterson Park archive →
Next door

Watterson Park and its neighbors

Watterson Park has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

West Buechel: hazard risk B−West BuechelWatterson Park
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Watterson ParkB+less damage than 74%river and rain flooding42
West BuechelB−more damage than 53%river and rain flooding—

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 Watterson Park 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 ↗
Tornado warnings
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
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 ↗
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 Watterson Park

Is Watterson Park at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Watterson Park has lower expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (72%) and tornadoes (13%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Does Watterson Park flood?

Flood insurance has paid 42 claims in Watterson Park since 1989, $931K in all, or 96.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 96% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Late summer storms (1).

Is Watterson Park 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 Jefferson County, 53% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.2% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Watterson Park?

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

By flood claims, Late summer storms: 1 paid, $18K.

Is Watterson Park at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (72%), and Watterson Park’s rate for it is lower than 61% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Watterson Park.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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