Wetumka Armory · Photo: TulGuy · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Wetumka faces more hazard damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns, led by hail
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Wetumka gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hail (32%), then river and rain flooding (31%). 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 Wetumka’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Wetumka faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Hail
River and rain flooding
Wildfire
Ice storms
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 Wetumka’s grade
Hail is 32% of the building damage FEMA expects in Wetumka, and Wetumka’s rate of hail damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 17%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Wetumka’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $953K a year in losses across Wetumka: $603K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Wetumka flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Wetumka. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Wetumka isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Hughes County.10 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Wetumka
Disasters that paid out in Wetumka itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Wetumka), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding32 households applied for aid$141K aid approved
- 2021Severe Winter Storms13 households applied for aid$6K aid approved
- 2015Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding10 households applied for aid$4K aid approved$15K to the City of Wetumka for repairs
- 2013Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding$7K to the City of Wetumka for repairs
- 2010Severe Winter Storm$25K to the City of Wetumka for repairs
- 2009Severe Winter Storm$1K to the City of Wetumka for repairs
Show all 10
- 2008Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding$21K to the City of Wetumka for repairs
- 2008Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding$6K to the City of Wetumka for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes$31K to the City of Wetumka for repairs
- 2000Severe Winter Ice Storm$31K to the City of Wetumka for repairs
Hughes County has had 20 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Wetumka after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Wetumka archive →Get ready for what Wetumka faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- 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.
- 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 Wetumka
Is Wetumka at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Wetumka has higher expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hail (32%) and river and rain flooding (31%). 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 Wetumka 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 Hughes County, 6% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Wetumka?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Wetumka’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 Wetumka?
By FEMA money that reached Wetumka, Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding (2024): 32 households applied for aid, $141K approved.
Is Wetumka at risk from hail?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (32%), and Wetumka’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Wetumka.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Wetumka’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.