Natural disaster risk in Powell County, Kentucky

Kentucky · population 13,107 · FIPS 21197

Overall: very low risk

Powell County has a composite risk score of 31.2 out of 100 — higher than 31% of US counties. It ranks 79 of 120 in Kentucky (1 = highest risk). Its highest-rated hazards are strong wind, winter weather, inland (riverine) flooding.

Drought now: No, but abnormally dry (D0)

No drought, but abnormally dry. On the U.S. Drought Monitor map valid 13 October 2026, 100% of Powell 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 3 weeks in a row.

Drought in Powell 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

Measure	Rating and score
Overall risk Expected annual loss, adjusted for social vulnerability and community resilience.	Very low 31.2
Expected annual loss About $6.7 million a year, on average, across all 18 hazards.	Very low 20.6
Social vulnerability Higher means people may find it harder to prepare and recover.	Very high 87.2
Community resilience Higher means a stronger ability to prepare, adapt and recover.	Relatively low 21.2

Risk by hazard

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

Hazard	Risk rating and score
Strong wind	Relatively moderate 77
Winter weather	Relatively low 54
Inland (riverine) flooding	Relatively low 51
Lightning	Relatively low 43
Tornado	Relatively low 37
Hail	Relatively low 35
Cold wave	Relatively low 33
Ice storm	Relatively low 29
Landslide	Very low 48
Wildfire	Very low 43
Earthquake	Very low 37
Hurricane	Very low 34
Heat wave	Very low 32
Avalanche	Very low 21
Drought	Very low 18
Coastal flooding	Not applicable
Tsunami	Not applicable
Volcanic activity	Not applicable

FEMA disaster declarations for Powell County

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

Yes. Powell County has been named in 7 FEMA declarations since 1 Jan 2024. The latest is EM-3633-KY (Severe Winter Storm), declared 24 Jan 2026.

Declaration	Kind	Incident	Declared	Individual assistance here
EM-3633-KY	Emergency	Severe Winter Storm	24 Jan 2026	No
DR-4875-KY	Major disaster	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes	23 May 2025	No
DR-4864-KY	Major disaster	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	24 Apr 2025	Yes
EM-3626-KY	Emergency	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding	3 Apr 2025	No
DR-4860-KY	Major disaster	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	24 Feb 2025	No
EM-3624-KY	Emergency	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, and Landslides	16 Feb 2025	No
DR-4848-KY	Major disaster	Remnants of Hurricane Helene	26 Nov 2024	No

All FEMA declarations in Kentucky, 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 Powell County, Kentucky?

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the overall risk in Powell County as very low, with a score of 31.2 out of 100 (higher than 31% of US counties). That is a comparison with other US counties, not a forecast.

What are the biggest natural hazards in Powell County?

The hazards rated highest for Powell County are strong wind (relatively moderate), winter weather (relatively low), inland (riverine) flooding (relatively low).

What is the flood risk in Powell County?

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

Has Powell County had a FEMA disaster declaration?

Yes. Powell County has been named in 7 FEMA declarations since 1 Jan 2024. The latest is EM-3633-KY (Severe Winter Storm), declared 24 Jan 2026.

Is Powell County in a drought?

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