Photo: Coal town guy · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Deep Water
Deep Water isn’t graded for hazard risk: Deep Water has 104 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Deep Water 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 Deep Water flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Deep Water. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Deep Water isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Fayette County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Deep Water
Disasters that paid out in Deep Water itself (aid to households or repair grants to Deep Water), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides1 households applied for aid$300 aid approved
- 2012Severe Storms and Straight-line Winds14 households applied for aid$5K aid approved
- 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides4 households applied for aid$28K aid approved
Fayette County has had 20 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.
Old photos of Deep Water after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Deep Water archive →Deep Water and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Falls View | — | 372 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
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 Deep Water 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 Deep Water
Is Deep Water 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 Fayette County, 9% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Deep Water?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Deep Water’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 Deep Water?
By FEMA money that reached Deep Water, Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides (2003): 4 households applied for aid, $28K approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Deep Water.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Deep Water’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.