Stewart's Tavern · Photo: Generic1139 · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Fort Ashby than in 86% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Fort Ashby gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (95%). Flood insurance has paid 24 claims here since 1993.
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 stands out about Fort Ashby’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Fort Ashby 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 Fort Ashby’s grade
River and rain flooding is 95% of the building damage FEMA expects in Fort Ashby, and Fort Ashby’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Fort Ashby’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $545K a year in losses across Fort Ashby: $495K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Fort Ashby flood? Sometimes: 24 flood claims since 1993
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Fort Ashby, from FEMA’s records: 34.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 90% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- Hurricane Fran4 claims · $18K
Fort Ashby isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Mineral County.The storms Fort Ashby remembers
None of the 16 disasters declared for Mineral County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Fort Ashby itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 199616 flood claims paidThe year of Hurricane Fran and Associated Heavy Rains,flooding Highwind, declared for Mineral County
- 19933 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Snowfall and Winter Storm, declared for Mineral County
- 20112 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Mineral County has had 16 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 Fort Ashby after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Fort Ashby archive →Get ready for what Fort Ashby 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 Fort Ashby
Is Fort Ashby at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Fort Ashby has higher expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (95%). 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.
Does Fort Ashby flood?
Flood insurance has paid 24 claims in Fort Ashby since 1993, $130K in all, or 34.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 90% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Fran (4).
Is Fort Ashby 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 Mineral County, 11% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.9% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Fort Ashby?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Fort Ashby’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 Fort Ashby?
By flood claims, Hurricane Fran: 4 paid, $18K.
Is Fort Ashby at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (95%), and Fort Ashby’s rate for it is in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Fort Ashby.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Fort Ashby’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.