Storms, floods and disasters in Blue Bell
Blue Bell isn’t graded for hazard risk: Blue Bell is a Census area inside a town, graded with the town. Flood insurance has paid 30 claims here since 1979.
What Blue Bell 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
Hurricanes
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.
Does Blue Bell flood? Sometimes: 30 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Blue Bell, from FEMA’s records.
- Tropical Storm Lee6 claims · $658K
- Hurricane Irene5 claims · $29K
- Hurricane Floyd2 claims · $14K
Blue Bell isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Montgomery County.The storms Blue Bell remembers
None of the 23 disasters declared for Montgomery County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Blue Bell itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 201111 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Storm Lee, declared for Montgomery County
- 20047 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Depression Ivan, declared for Montgomery County
- 20203 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Montgomery County has had 23 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 Blue Bell after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Blue Bell archive →Get ready for what Blue Bell 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.
- 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.
- 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 Blue Bell
Does Blue Bell flood?
Flood insurance has paid 30 claims in Blue Bell since 1979, $1.5M in all. The most claims came from Tropical Storm Lee (6).
Is Blue Bell 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 Montgomery County, 47% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.9% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Blue Bell?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Blue Bell’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 Blue Bell?
By flood claims, Tropical Storm Lee: 6 paid, $658K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Blue Bell.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Blue Bell’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.