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CHazard risk
Natural hazards in Culloden · FEMA

FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Culloden than in 69% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Culloden gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns, #27 of 61 in West Virginia. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (95%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 95%Tornadoes 1%Earthquakes 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

more than 69%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#27 of 61 in West Virginia
Hazard risk
C#27 of 61
in West Virginia · higher than 69% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
95% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
4
of 25 declared for Cabell County
By hazard

What Culloden 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

95%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Earthquakes Hail Strong wind Ice storms Hurricanes Wildfire Winter storms Cold waves Lightning Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts heat waves at 8% of Culloden’s expected losses. Heat waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), 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 Culloden’s grade

River and rain flooding is 95% of the building damage FEMA expects in Culloden, and Culloden’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Culloden sits
Culloden
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C #27 of 61 in West Virginia; higher expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns (21,298).

Culloden’s residents live in 5 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding95%Everything else5%

The typical West Virginia town has higher expected damage than 73% of U.S. towns; within the state, Culloden has less expected damage per building than 57% of West Virginia towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.1M a year in losses across Culloden: $918K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

A small-area figure. Culloden covers 5 census tracts, combined by where residents live. FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims and disasters below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Culloden flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

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

Insurance rates: Cabell County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
2flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Culloden

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

  1. 2004Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides1 households applied for aid$384 aid approved
  2. 2004Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides24 households applied for aid$47K aid approved
  3. 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides21 households applied for aid$90K aid approved
  4. 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides24 households applied for aid$51K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in CullodenCabell County only

Cabell County has had 25 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 Cabell County, 2001–2001.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Culloden archive →
Next door

Culloden and its neighbors

Culloden is 2nd of the 3 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Milton: hazard risk DHurricane: hazard risk C+MiltonHurricaneCulloden
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
HurricaneC+more damage than 63%river and rain flooding16
CullodenCmore damage than 69%river and rain flooding0
MiltonDmore damage than 88%river and rain flooding161

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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Culloden 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 Culloden

Is Culloden at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Culloden has higher expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk, #27 of 61 in West Virginia. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (95%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Is Culloden 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 Cabell County, 14% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.9% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Culloden?

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

By FEMA money that reached Culloden, Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides (2003): 21 households applied for aid, $90K approved.

Is Culloden at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (95%), and Culloden’s rate for it is higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Culloden.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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