Photo: Nyttend · Public domainStorms, floods and disasters in Keystone
Keystone isn’t graded for hazard risk: Keystone has 39 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 24 claims here since 2001.
What Keystone 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 Keystone flood? Sometimes: 24 flood claims since 2001
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Keystone, from FEMA’s records.
Keystone isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: McDowell County.7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Keystone
Disasters that paid out in Keystone itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Keystone), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2025Severe Storm, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides10 households applied for aid$99K aid approved
- 2010Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides5 households applied for aid$7K aid approved
- 2009Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides2 households applied for aid$2K aid approved$5K to the City of Keystone for repairs
- 2004Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides5 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
- 2003Severe Winter Storm, Record/near Record Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and Landslides5 households applied for aid$3K aid approved
- 2002Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides$13K to the City of Keystone for repairs22 flood claims paid that year
Show all 7
- 2001Severe Storms, Flooding and Landslides$12K to the City of Keystone for repairs2 flood claims paid that year
McDowell County has had 22 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 McDowell County, 2001–2001.
Old photos of Keystone after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Keystone archive →Keystone 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northfork | — | 169 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 Keystone 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 Keystone
Does Keystone flood?
Flood insurance has paid 24 claims in Keystone since 2001, $299K in all. 2 properties have flooded more than once.
Is Keystone 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 McDowell County, 19% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 4.6% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Keystone?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Keystone’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 Keystone?
By FEMA money that reached Keystone, Severe Storm, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2025): 10 households applied for aid, $99K approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Keystone.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Keystone’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.