Storms, floods and disasters in Elkview
Elkview isn’t graded for hazard risk: Elkview has 671 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Elkview 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 Elkview flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Elkview. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Elkview 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.11 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Elkview
Disasters that paid out in Elkview itself (aid to households or repair grants to Elkview), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides8 households applied for aid$71K aid approved
- 2024Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides3 households applied for aid$9K aid approved
- 2021Severe Storms and Flooding10 households applied for aid$1K aid approved
- 2016Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides853 households applied for aid$5.7M aid approved
- 2012Severe Storms and Straight-line Winds75 households applied for aid$23K aid approved
- 2010Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides7 households applied for aid$13K aid approved
Show all 11
- 2004Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides5 households applied for aid$14K aid approved
- 2004Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides11 households applied for aid$18K aid approved
- 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides50 households applied for aid$236K aid approved
- 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides227 households applied for aid$562K aid approved
- 2003Severe Winter Storm, Record/near Record Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and Landslides12 households applied for aid$15K 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 Elkview after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Elkview archive →Elkview 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pinch | Dmore damage than 91% | river and rain flooding | — |
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 Elkview 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 Elkview
Is Elkview 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 Elkview?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Elkview’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 Elkview?
By FEMA money that reached Elkview, Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2016): 853 households applied for aid, $5.7M approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Elkview.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Elkview’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.