Henry Clay Furnace · Photo: Brian Masney · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Cheat Lake than in 62% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Cheat Lake gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns, #15 of 61 in West Virginia. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). 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 Cheat Lake 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.
What’s behind Cheat Lake’s grade
River and rain flooding is 92% of the building damage FEMA expects in Cheat Lake, and Cheat Lake’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 66% of U.S. census tracts.
B #15 of 61 in West Virginia; lower expected damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Cheat Lake’s residents live in 3 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical West Virginia town has higher expected damage than 73% of U.S. towns; within the state, Cheat Lake has less expected damage per building than 77% of West Virginia towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.9M a year in losses across Cheat Lake: $2.6M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Cheat Lake flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Cheat Lake. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Cheat Lake isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Monongalia County.The storms Cheat Lake remembers
None of the 18 disasters declared for Monongalia County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Cheat Lake itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Monongalia County has had 18 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.
Cheat Lake and its neighbors
Cheat Lake is 2nd of the 2 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brookhaven | Bless damage than 63% | river and rain flooding | 5 |
| Cheat Lake | Bless damage than 62% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Cheat Lake 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 Cheat Lake
Is Cheat Lake at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Cheat Lake has lower expected damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk, #15 of 61 in West Virginia. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Cheat Lake 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 Monongalia County, 11% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Cheat Lake?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Cheat Lake’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Cheat Lake at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (92%), and Cheat Lake’s rate for it is higher than 66% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Cheat Lake.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Cheat Lake’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.