Photo: Paul Sableman · CC BY 2.0

–Not graded

Natural hazards in Kinloch · FEMA

Storms, floods and disasters in Kinloch

Kinloch isn’t graded for hazard risk: Kinloch has 322 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1979.

Flood claims

paid since 1979 · $2K

Disasters paid out here

of 30 declared for St. Louis County

By hazard

What Kinloch 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

49%of expected building damage

Below average · lower than 71% of U.S. census tracts

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

33%of expected building damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. census tracts

Hail

12%of expected building damage

Well above average · in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Smaller shares here

Tornadoes Ice storms Winter storms Lightning Hurricanes Strong wind Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves Landslides

FEMA models no building damage here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts heat waves at 24% of Kinloch’s expected losses. Heat waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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.

Flood insurance claims

Does Kinloch flood? Rarely: 3 flood claims since 1979

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Kinloch, from FEMA’s records.

Paid flood claims, by year

19791985

19792026

paid claims since 1979

$2K

paid to owners

homes flooded more than once

$538

average claim

of homes in flood zones are insured

of all homes are insured

No community discount

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

Insurance rates: St. Louis County.

Disasters

The storms Kinloch remembers

None of the 30 disasters declared for St. Louis County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Kinloch itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

19792 flood claims paidThe year of Tornadoes, Torrential Rain and Flooding, declared for St. Louis County
19851 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year

Disasters declared, by decade

Paid out in KinlochSt. Louis County only

St. Louis County has had 30 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 Kinloch after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Kinloch archive →

Next door

Kinloch and its neighbors

How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.

BerkeleyFergusonKinloch

Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth

Town	Hazard risk	Mostly (buildings)	Flood claims
Berkeley	B⁻less damage than 53%	river and rain flooding	11
Ferguson	Cmore damage than 74%	river and rain flooding	283

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 Kinloch 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.

Questions about natural hazards in Kinloch

Does Kinloch flood?

Flood insurance has paid 3 claims in Kinloch since 1979, $2K in all.

Is Kinloch 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 St. Louis County, 34% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Kinloch?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Kinloch’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Kinloch.

Town Square →

Start the conversation

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

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