Storms, floods and disasters in Big Chimney
Big Chimney isn’t graded for hazard risk: Big Chimney has 610 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Big Chimney 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
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 Big Chimney flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Big Chimney. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Big Chimney isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Kanawha County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Big Chimney
Disasters that paid out in Big Chimney itself (aid to households or repair grants to Big Chimney), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides1 households applied for aid$5K aid approved
Kanawha County has had 26 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.
Also 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Kanawha County, 2001–2001.
Old photos of Big Chimney after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Big Chimney archive →Get ready for what Big Chimney 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.
- 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 Big Chimney
Is Big Chimney 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 Kanawha County, 10% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Big Chimney?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Big Chimney’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 Big Chimney?
By FEMA money that reached Big Chimney, Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides (2003): 1 households applied for aid, $5K approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Big Chimney.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Big Chimney’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.