Natural disaster risk in Cleburne County, Alabama

Alabama · population 15,040 · FIPS 01029

Overall: very low risk

Cleburne County has a composite risk score of 27.5 out of 100 — higher than 27% of US counties. It ranks 62 of 67 in Alabama (1 = highest risk). Its highest-rated hazards are tornado, landslide, wildfire.

Drought now: No, but abnormally dry (D0)

No drought, but abnormally dry. On the U.S. Drought Monitor map valid 13 October 2026, 29.42% of Cleburne County is D0 Abnormally Dry and none of it is in drought (D1 to D4). Some of it has been abnormally dry or worse for 6 weeks in a row.

Drought in Cleburne County: the last 52 weeks · droughtmonitor.unl.edu

The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Map courtesy of NDMC.

Risk, loss, vulnerability and resilience

MeasureRating and score
Overall risk
Expected annual loss, adjusted for social vulnerability and community resilience.
Very low 27.5
Expected annual loss
About $6.0 million a year, on average, across all 18 hazards.
Very low 17.5
Social vulnerability
Higher means people may find it harder to prepare and recover.
Very high 84.3
Community resilience
Higher means a stronger ability to prepare, adapt and recover.
Very low 8.3

Risk by hazard

FEMA's risk rating for each of 18 natural hazards in Cleburne County, highest first. "Not applicable" means the hazard is not modelled here.

HazardRisk rating and score
Tornado Relatively moderate 70
Landslide Relatively low 67
Wildfire Relatively low 67
Hurricane Relatively low 65
Drought Relatively low 48
Cold wave Relatively low 41
Inland (riverine) flooding Relatively low 37
Lightning Relatively low 24
Strong wind Relatively low 24
Earthquake Very low 47
Heat wave Very low 35
Hail Very low 27
Ice storm Very low 17
Winter weather Very low 7
Avalanche Not applicable
Coastal flooding Not applicable
Tsunami Not applicable
Volcanic activity Not applicable

FEMA disaster declarations for Cleburne County

Federal declarations that designated Cleburne County, since 1 Jan 2024 (the period this site keeps from OpenFEMA). Older declarations are in FEMA's own dataset.

Yes. Cleburne County has been named in 1 FEMA declaration since 1 Jan 2024. The latest is EM-3618-AL (Hurricane Helene), declared 26 Sep 2024.

DeclarationKindIncidentDeclaredIndividual assistance here
EM-3618-AL Emergency Hurricane Helene 26 Sep 2024 No

All FEMA declarations in Alabama, with estimated apply-by dates · Open FEMA deadlines

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s). Dataset: Disaster Declarations Summaries - v2.

How to read these ratings

  • Ratings run in five steps: very low, relatively low, relatively moderate, relatively high and very high. They compare a county with every other US county; they are not a measure of danger on their own.
  • Scores run from 0 to 100 and are national percentiles. The bar shows the score: a score of 80 means a higher value than 80% of US counties.
  • Overall risk combines the expected annual loss with social vulnerability and community resilience.
  • Expected annual loss is the average yearly loss to buildings, people and agriculture the model expects from all 18 hazards.
  • Social vulnerability describes how hard it may be for people to prepare for and recover from a disaster. Higher is worse.
  • Community resilience describes a community's ability to prepare, adapt and recover. Higher is better.
  • "Not applicable" means FEMA does not model that hazard there (for example, hurricanes far inland).

About this data

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, version 1.20, released December 2025, published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (US public domain). About the National Risk Index. The index is a model of relative risk built from historical hazard records, what is exposed and community factors. It is not a forecast, it does not describe any single property, and it is not insurance or financial advice. For decisions about a specific address, check FEMA's flood maps and your local emergency management office.

Questions

What is the natural disaster risk in Cleburne County, Alabama?

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the overall risk in Cleburne County as very low, with a score of 27.5 out of 100 (higher than 27% of US counties). That is a comparison with other US counties, not a forecast.

What are the biggest natural hazards in Cleburne County?

The hazards rated highest for Cleburne County are tornado (relatively moderate), landslide (relatively low), wildfire (relatively low).

What is the flood risk in Cleburne County?

FEMA rates inland (river and rain) flooding risk in Cleburne County as relatively low. For a specific property, check the FEMA flood map and your local floodplain office.

Has Cleburne County had a FEMA disaster declaration?

Yes. Cleburne County has been named in 1 FEMA declaration since 1 Jan 2024. The latest is EM-3618-AL (Hurricane Helene), declared 26 Sep 2024.

Is Cleburne County in a drought?

No drought, but abnormally dry. On the U.S. Drought Monitor map valid 13 October 2026, 29.42% of Cleburne County is D0 Abnormally Dry and none of it is in drought (D1 to D4). Some of it has been abnormally dry or worse for 6 weeks in a row.

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