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D−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Tornado · FEMA

FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Tornado than almost anywhere in the U.S., mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Tornado gets a D− for hazard risk: among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (98%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 98%

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

among the highestof U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
D−
in West Virginia · among the highest of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
98% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
9
of 26 declared for Kanawha County
By hazard

What Tornado 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

98%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Strong wind Hail Tornadoes Wildfire Ice storms Hurricanes Earthquakes Winter storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides Lightning
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Tornado’s grade

River and rain flooding is 98% of the building damage FEMA expects in Tornado, and Tornado’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Tornado sits
Tornado
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D− among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Tornado’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding98%Everything else2%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.2M a year in losses across Tornado: $1.1M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Tornado’s 1,081 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Tornado flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Tornado. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Tornado 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.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
3flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Tornado

Disasters that paid out in Tornado itself (aid to households or repair grants to Tornado), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2024Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides7 households applied for aid$28K aid approved
  2. 2024Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides3 households applied for aid$10K aid approved
  3. 2021Severe Storms and Flooding8 households applied for aid$45K aid approved
  4. 2012Severe Storms and Straight-line Winds7 households applied for aid$500 aid approved
  5. 2012Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides1 households applied for aid$219 aid approved
  6. 2004Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides8 households applied for aid$7K aid approved
Show all 9
  1. 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides16 households applied for aid$29K aid approved
  2. 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides3 households applied for aid$4K aid approved
  3. 2003Severe Winter Storm, Record/near Record Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and Landslides1 households applied for aid$198 aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in TornadoKanawha County only

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.

Were you here?

Old photos of Tornado after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Tornado archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Tornado faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Tornado

Is Tornado at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Tornado has among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (98%). 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.

Is Tornado 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 Tornado?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Tornado’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 Tornado?

By FEMA money that reached Tornado, Severe Storms and Flooding (2021): 8 households applied for aid, $45K approved.

Is Tornado at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (98%), and Tornado’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Tornado.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Tornado’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.