Photo: Mojo Hand · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Bowling Green faces less hazard damage per building than 66% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bowling Green gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 66% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (55%), then hurricanes (30%). 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 Bowling Green 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
Earthquakes
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.
What’s behind Bowling Green’s grade
River and rain flooding is 55% of the building damage FEMA expects in Bowling Green, and Bowling Green’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 74% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 30% (higher than 86% of U.S. census tracts).
B+ lower expected damage per building than 66% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Bowling Green’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $324K a year in losses across Bowling Green: $240K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Bowling Green flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Bowling Green. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Bowling Green isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Caroline County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Bowling Green
Disasters that paid out in Bowling Green itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Bowling Green), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2003Hurricane Isabel30 households applied for aid$11K aid approved$6K to the Town of Bowling Green for repairs
Caroline County has had 21 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Bowling Green after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Bowling Green archive →Get ready for what Bowling Green 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Bowling Green
Is Bowling Green at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bowling Green has lower expected damage per building than 66% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (55%) and hurricanes (30%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Bowling Green 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 Caroline County, 7% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Bowling Green?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Bowling Green’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 Bowling Green?
By FEMA money that reached Bowling Green, Hurricane Isabel (2003): 30 households applied for aid, $11K approved, and $6K to the Town of Bowling Green for repairs.
Is Bowling Green at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (55%), and Bowling Green’s rate for it is lower than 74% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bowling Green.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Bowling Green’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.