Photo: Jmiller wiki · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Brilliant than in 94% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Brilliant gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (97%). 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 Brilliant 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.
What’s behind Brilliant’s grade
River and rain flooding is 97% of the building damage FEMA expects in Brilliant, and Brilliant’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Brilliant’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $938K a year in losses across Brilliant: $894K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Brilliant flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Brilliant. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Brilliant isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Jefferson County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Brilliant
Disasters that paid out in Brilliant itself (aid to households or repair grants to Brilliant), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2004Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides6 households applied for aid$5K aid approved
- 2004Severe Storms and Flooding24 households applied for aid$50K aid approved
- 2004Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides2 households applied for aid$544 aid approved
Jefferson County has had 19 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 Brilliant after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Brilliant archive →Get ready for what Brilliant 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 Brilliant
Is Brilliant at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Brilliant has higher expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (97%). 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 Brilliant 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 Jefferson County, 10% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Brilliant?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Brilliant’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 Brilliant?
By FEMA money that reached Brilliant, Severe Storms and Flooding (2004): 24 households applied for aid, $50K approved.
Is Brilliant at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (97%), and Brilliant’s rate for it is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Brilliant.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Brilliant’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.