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AHazard risk
Natural hazards in Athens · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Athens faces less hazard damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Athens gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (87%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 87%Earthquakes 6%Strong wind 1%

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

less than 94%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
A
in West Virginia · lower than 94% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
87% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
8
of 22 declared for Mercer County
By hazard

What Athens 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

87%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 72% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

6%of expected building damage
About average · higher than 54% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Strong wind Wildfire Hail Tornadoes Hurricanes Winter storms Lightning Ice storms Cold waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHeat wavesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 28% of Athens’ expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.2%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Athens’ grade

River and rain flooding is 87% of the building damage FEMA expects in Athens, and Athens’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 72% of U.S. census tracts. Next is earthquakes at 6% (higher than 54% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Athens sits
Athens
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A lower expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Athens’ residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding87%Earthquakes6%Everything else7%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $168K a year in losses across Athens: $103K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Athens’ 962 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Athens flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Athens. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Athens isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Mercer County.
Disasters

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Athens

Disasters that paid out in Athens itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Athens), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2025Severe Storm, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides4 households applied for aid$12K aid approved$156K to the Town of Athens for repairs
  2. 2024Post-tropical Storm Helene6 households applied for aid$3K aid approved
  3. 2015Severe Winter Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$6K to the Town of Athens for repairs
  4. 2010Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides5 households applied for aid$11K aid approved$5K to the Town of Athens for repairs
  5. 2009Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$2K to the Town of Athens for repairs
  6. 2004Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides5 households applied for aid$1K aid approved
Show all 8
  1. 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides6 households applied for aid$5K aid approved
  2. 2003Severe Winter Storm, Record/near Record Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and Landslides2 households applied for aid$999 aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in AthensMercer County only

Mercer County has had 22 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.

Also 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Mercer County, 2001–2001.

Were you here?

Old photos of Athens after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Athens archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Athens faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Earthquakes
  • Drop, cover and hold on.
  • Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
  • Know how to shut off the gas.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Athens

Is Athens at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Athens has lower expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (87%) and earthquakes (6%). 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 Athens 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 Mercer County, 13% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.8% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Athens?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Athens’ 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 Athens?

By FEMA money that reached Athens, Severe Storm, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2025): 4 households applied for aid, $12K approved, and $156K to the Town of Athens for repairs.

Is Athens at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (87%), and Athens’ rate for it is lower than 72% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Athens.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Athens’ 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.