Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Sylvester
Sylvester isn’t graded for hazard risk: Sylvester has 131 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 15 claims here since 1978.
What Sylvester 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 Sylvester flood? Sometimes: 15 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Sylvester, from FEMA’s records.
Sylvester isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Boone County.4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Sylvester
Disasters that paid out in Sylvester itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Sylvester), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides2 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
- 2024Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides3 households applied for aid$12K aid approved
- 2012Severe Storms and Straight-line Winds2 households applied for aid$683 aid approved
- 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides34 households applied for aid$67K aid approved4 flood claims paid that year
Boone County has had 23 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 Boone County, 2001–2001.
Old photos of Sylvester after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Sylvester archive →Get ready for what Sylvester 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 Sylvester
Does Sylvester flood?
Flood insurance has paid 15 claims in Sylvester since 1978, $84K in all. 3 properties have flooded more than once.
Is Sylvester 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 Boone County, 5% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Sylvester?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Sylvester’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 Sylvester?
By FEMA money that reached Sylvester, Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides (2003): 34 households applied for aid, $67K approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Sylvester.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Sylvester’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.