Photo: Nyttend · Public domainStorms, floods and disasters in Wayland
Wayland isn’t graded for hazard risk: Wayland has 316 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 141 claims here since 1981.
What Wayland 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
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.
Does Wayland flood? Yes: 141 flood claims since 1981
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Wayland, from FEMA’s records.
- The February Kentucky Flooding12 claims · $607K
- The Late July Flooding11 claims · $632K
- The Storm6 claims · $61K
Wayland isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Floyd County.8 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Wayland
Disasters that paid out in Wayland itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Wayland), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2025Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides58 households applied for aid$477K aid approved$69K to the City of Wayland for repairs12 flood claims paid that year
- 2022Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides138 households applied for aid$1.2M aid approved$31K to the City of Wayland for repairs11 flood claims paid that year
- 2021Severe, Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides12 households applied for aid$10K aid approved13 flood claims paid that year
- 2015Severe Winter Storms, Snowstorms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$3K to the City of Wayland for repairs7 flood claims paid that year
- 2009Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding and Mudslides49 households applied for aid$59K aid approved7 flood claims paid that year
- 2004Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and Mudslides4 households applied for aid$3K aid approved4 flood claims paid that year
Show all 8
- 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud and Rock Slides, and Tornadoes48 households applied for aid$181K aid approved$6K to the City of Wayland for repairs
- 2003Severe Winter Ice and Snow Storms, Heavy Rain, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Mud and17 households applied for aid$48K aid approved
Floyd County has had 39 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 3 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Floyd County, 1999–2001.
Old photos of Wayland after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Wayland archive →Get ready for what Wayland 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.
- 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 Wayland
Does Wayland flood?
Flood insurance has paid 141 claims in Wayland since 1981, $2.3M in all. 14 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from February Kentucky Flooding (12).
Is Wayland 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 Floyd County, 15% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 3.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Wayland?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Wayland’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 Wayland?
By FEMA money that reached Wayland, Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2022): 138 households applied for aid, $1.2M approved, and $31K to the City of Wayland for repairs. By flood claims, February Kentucky Flooding: 12 paid, $607K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Wayland.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Wayland’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.