Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Belmont than in 66% of U.S. towns, led by river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Belmont gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 66% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (48%), then earthquakes (22%). 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 stands out about Belmont’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Belmont 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
Earthquakes
Tornadoes
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 Belmont’s grade
River and rain flooding is 48% of the building damage FEMA expects in Belmont, and Belmont’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 81% of U.S. census tracts. Tornadoes add 21%, at a rate in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
B+ lower expected damage per building than 66% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Belmont’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $813K a year in losses across Belmont: $419K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Belmont flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Belmont. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Belmont isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Tishomingo County.2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Belmont
Disasters that paid out in Belmont itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Belmont), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2026Severe Winter Storm8 households applied for aid$17K aid approved
- 2011Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Associated Flooding67 households applied for aid$99K aid approved
Tishomingo County has had 15 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter storms.
Old photos of Belmont after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Belmont archive →Get ready for what Belmont 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
- 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 Belmont
Is Belmont at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Belmont has lower expected damage per building than 66% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (48%) and earthquakes (22%). 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.
Is Belmont 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 Tishomingo County, 5% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Belmont?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Belmont’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 Belmont?
By FEMA money that reached Belmont, Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Associated Flooding (2011): 67 households applied for aid, $99K approved.
Is Belmont at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (48%), and Belmont’s rate for it is lower than 81% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Belmont.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Belmont’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.