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A−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Bradley · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Bradley faces less hazard damage per building than 83% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bradley gets an A− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 83% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (89%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 89%Strong wind 3%Earthquakes 2%

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 83%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 83% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
89% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
4
of 23 declared for Raleigh County
By hazard

What Bradley 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

89%of expected building damage
About average · lower than 55% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Strong wind Earthquakes Wildfire Hail Ice storms Cold waves top 1% Hurricanes Tornadoes Winter storms Lightning Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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 Bradley’s grade

River and rain flooding is 89% of the building damage FEMA expects in Bradley, and Bradley’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 55% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Bradley sits
Bradley
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A− lower expected damage per building than 83% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding89%Strong wind3%Everything else8%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $416K a year in losses across Bradley: $338K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Bradley’s 1,928 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Prosperity CDP (1,345 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. 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 Bradley flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Bradley. 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

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

Insurance rates: Raleigh County.
Disasters

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Bradley

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

  1. 2016Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides1 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
  2. 2010Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides7 households applied for aid$14K aid approved
  3. 2004Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides9 households applied for aid$25K aid approved
  4. 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides2 households applied for aid$6K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in BradleyRaleigh County only

Raleigh 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.

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

Were you here?

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

Add to the Bradley archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Bradley 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 ↗
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 Bradley

Is Bradley at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bradley has lower expected damage per building than 83% of U.S. towns: A− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (89%). 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 Bradley 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 Raleigh County, 5% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Bradley?

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

By FEMA money that reached Bradley, Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides (2004): 9 households applied for aid, $25K approved.

Is Bradley at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (89%), and Bradley’s rate for it is lower than 55% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bradley.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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