Photo: Chasealpha1 at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Seymour’s building-damage rate from ice storms is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Seymour gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 57% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (50%), 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 Seymour 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
Ice storms
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 Seymour’s grade
River and rain flooding is 50% of the building damage FEMA expects in Seymour, and Seymour’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 72% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 11%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
B lower expected damage per building than 57% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Seymour’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $807K a year in losses across Seymour: $416K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Seymour flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Seymour. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Seymour isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Webster County.7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Seymour
Disasters that paid out in Seymour itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Seymour), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2025Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Wildfires11 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
- 2015Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding6 households applied for aid$17K aid approved
- 2009Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding12 households applied for aid$7K aid approved
- 2008Severe Storms and Flooding8 households applied for aid$15K aid approved
- 2008Severe Storms and Flooding13 households applied for aid$7K aid approved
- 2007Severe Winter Storms and Flooding$30K to the City of Seymour for repairs
Show all 7
- 2006Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding15 households applied for aid$15K aid approved
Webster County has had 28 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.
Old photos of Seymour after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Seymour archive →Seymour and its neighbors
Seymour has the lowest expected damage per building of the 1 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seymour | Bless damage than 57% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Diggins | — | 269 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 Seymour 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.
- Ice brings down trees and lines: plan for days without power.
- Run a generator outside, far from doors and windows.
- Keep sand or salt by the door.
- 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 Seymour
Is Seymour at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Seymour has lower expected damage per building than 57% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (50%) and tornadoes (12%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Seymour 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 Webster County, 1% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Seymour?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Seymour’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 Seymour?
By FEMA money that reached Seymour, Severe Winter Storms and Flooding (2007): $30K to the City of Seymour for repairs.
Is Seymour at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (50%), and Seymour’s rate for it is lower than 72% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Seymour.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Seymour’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.