Photo: Nlsanfor · CC BY-SA 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Seminary
Seminary isn’t graded for hazard risk: Seminary has 229 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Seminary 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
Hurricanes
Tornadoes
Hail
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 Seminary flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Seminary. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Seminary isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Covington County.4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Seminary
Disasters that paid out in Seminary itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Seminary), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2025Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding91 households applied for aid$531K aid approved
- 2020Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding103 households applied for aid$184K aid approved
- 2016Severe Storms and Flooding$7K to the Town of Seminary for repairs
- 2005Hurricane Katrina1,990 households applied for aid$2.5M aid approved$202K to the Town of Seminary for repairs
Covington County has had 25 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then severe storms.
Old photos of Seminary after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Seminary archive →Get ready for what Seminary 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.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- 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.
- Park in a garage or under cover when storms are forecast.
- Stay away from windows while it falls.
- Photograph roof and car damage for your insurer.
- 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 Seminary
Is Seminary 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 Covington County, 8% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.7% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Seminary?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Seminary’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 Seminary?
By FEMA money that reached Seminary, Hurricane Katrina (2005): 1,990 households applied for aid, $2.5M approved, and $202K to the Town of Seminary for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Seminary.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Seminary’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.