Photo: Tricia Simpson · CC BY-SA 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Woodruff
Woodruff isn’t graded for hazard risk: Woodruff has 371 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2011.
What Woodruff 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
Wildfire
Earthquakes
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 Woodruff flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 2011
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Woodruff, from FEMA’s records.
Woodruff isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Rich County.The storms Woodruff remembers
None of the 2 disasters declared for Rich County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Woodruff itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 20111 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Rich County has had 2 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Woodruff after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Woodruff archive →Get ready for what Woodruff 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.
- 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Woodruff
Does Woodruff flood?
Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Woodruff since 2011, $3K in all.
Is Woodruff 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 Rich County, 0.1% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Woodruff?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Woodruff’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Woodruff.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Woodruff’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.