Photo: FatCat96 · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Red Jacket
Red Jacket isn’t graded for hazard risk: Red Jacket has 482 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 98 claims here since 1978.
What Red Jacket 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 Red Jacket flood? Sometimes: 98 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Red Jacket, from FEMA’s records.
- The Storm19 claims · $300K
- The February West Virginia Flooding8 claims · $263K
- The April 2007 nor’easter2 claims · $12K
Red Jacket isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Mingo County.8 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Red Jacket
Disasters that paid out in Red Jacket itself (aid to households or repair grants to Red Jacket), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2025Severe Storm, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides4 households applied for aid$16K aid approved8 flood claims paid that year
- 2010Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides2 households applied for aid$4K aid approved
- 2009Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides136 households applied for aid$572K aid approved20 flood claims paid that year
- 2004Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides3 households applied for aid$4K aid approved
- 2004Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides4 households applied for aid$11K aid approved
- 2004Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides68 households applied for aid$183K aid approved
Show all 8
- 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides6 households applied for aid$16K aid approved
- 2003Severe Winter Storm, Record/near Record Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and Landslides2 households applied for aid$5K aid approved
Mingo County has had 31 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 Mingo County, 2001–2001.
Old photos of Red Jacket after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Red Jacket archive →Red Jacket 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matewan | — | 505 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 Red Jacket 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 Red Jacket
Does Red Jacket flood?
Flood insurance has paid 98 claims in Red Jacket since 1978, $2.1M in all. The most claims came from Storm (19).
Is Red Jacket 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 Mingo County, 17% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 3.9% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Red Jacket?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Red Jacket’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 Red Jacket?
By FEMA money that reached Red Jacket, Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides (2009): 136 households applied for aid, $572K approved. By flood claims, Storm: 19 paid, $300K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Red Jacket.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Red Jacket’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.