Laurel County, Kentucky: Natural Disaster Risk and History
Laurel County, Kentucky has a Relatively Low natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 71.7 out of 100, higher than about 71% of US counties, with winter storms, hail and wildfires scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $24 million a year in expected losses.
OpenFEMA lists 26 federal disaster declarations that included Laurel County since 1970, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is DR-4913-KY (Severe Winter Storm, declared 29 May 2026). NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 20 tornadoes touching Laurel County from 1950 to 2025.
Live weather alerts for Kentucky All official warnings Latest FEMA declarations
Population 62,486 Buildings worth $12 billion Area 448 sq mi Risk rank in Kentucky 22 of 120 FIPS 21125
All 18 hazards, highest risk first
FEMA National Risk Index| Hazard | Risk rating | Score | Expected loss a year | How often | Events in record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter weather | Relatively High | 91.4 | $354,729 | about 13 a year | 245 |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | 90.8 | $1.5 million | about 3.1 a year | 119 |
| Wildfire | Relatively Moderate | 89.5 | $1.0 million | about once every 97 years | — |
| Cold wave | Relatively Moderate | 88.8 | $5.0 million | about once every 1.3 years | 15 |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | 86.9 | $30,371 | about 1.1 a year | — |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | 83.5 | $3.8 million | about once every 6.8 years | 15 |
| Heat wave | Relatively Moderate | 79.5 | $1.2 million | about 2.6 a year | 40 |
| Strong wind | Relatively Moderate | 78.6 | $972,453 | about 5.7 a year | 218 |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | 77.3 | $1.0 million | about once every 380 years | — |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | 73.8 | $446,295 | about 53 a year | 96,196 strikes |
| Inland flooding | Relatively Low | 64.9 | $8.4 million | about 2 a year | 56 |
| Hurricane | Very Low | 50.9 | $61,515 | about once every 35 years | 8 |
| Ice storm | Relatively Low | 44.0 | $50,489 | about once every 3.1 years | 22 |
| Drought | Very Low | 28.3 | $15,298 | about 7.7 a year | 259 |
| Avalanche | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Coastal flooding | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Tsunami | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Volcanic activity | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
Score: FEMA's percentile among US counties that face the hazard (higher = more risk). Expected loss: FEMA's modelled average yearly loss to buildings, people (as a statistical value) and crops. How often: FEMA's annualised frequency of the hazard in the county; for some hazards it counts event-days, so it is a rough guide, not a forecast. "Not Applicable" means FEMA does not model that hazard here.
Federal disaster declarations 26
Most common: Severe Storm 13, Snowstorm 3, Winter Storm 2, Flood 2.
| Decade | Declarations | Incident types |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2 | Tornado, Flood |
| 1980s | 1 | Severe Storm |
| 1990s | 5 | Snowstorm ×3, Severe Storm, Tornado |
| 2000s | 6 | Severe Storm ×3, Fire ×2, Hurricane |
| 2010s | 2 | Severe Storm ×2 |
| 2020s | 10 | Severe Storm ×6, Winter Storm ×2, Flood, Severe Ice Storm |
The last 10
Widest declarations that included Laurel County
- Severe Winter Storm (2026, EM-3633-KY): 120 Kentucky counties designated.
- Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding (2025, EM-3626-KY): 120 Kentucky counties designated.
- Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, and Landslides (2025, EM-3624-KY): 120 Kentucky counties designated.
Named storms in its declarations: Hurricane Katrina (2005).
Not counted above: 2 COVID-19 ("Biological") declarations — in 2020 every US county was included. Kentucky also had 4 statewide declarations with no county list.
Tornado record since 1950 20
| Tornadoes touching the county | 20 |
|---|---|
| Strongest-rated | (E)F4 ×1 |
| Peak month | April (5) |
| Deadliest | 16 May 2025, EF4, 60.1 mi path, 18 killed, 0 injured |
| Longest path | 16 May 2025, EF4, 60.1 mi path, 18 killed, 0 injured |
| Most recent | 16 May 2025, EF4, 60.1 mi path, 18 killed, 0 injured |
| Deaths / injuries on those paths | 31 / 138 |
| Rating | (E)F0 | (E)F1 | (E)F2 | (E)F3 | (E)F4 | (E)F5 | Unrated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 3 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Decade | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
Deaths and injuries are for each tornado's whole path, which can run beyond this county. F-scale ratings before February 2007, Enhanced Fujita (EF) after.
How Laurel County compares with its 5 nearest counties
| County | Distance | Overall risk | Score | Top hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laurel County (this page) | — | Relatively Low | 71.7 | Winter weather |
| Rockcastle County | 33 km | Very Low | 36.1 | Landslide |
| Knox County | 34 km | Relatively Low | 74.7 | Cold wave |
| Jackson County | 36 km | Very Low | 24.2 | Landslide |
| Clay County | 36 km | Relatively Low | 67.1 | Landslide |
| Whitley County | 39 km | Relatively Low | 62.2 | Landslide |
Nearest by distance between county centres. Every county in Kentucky, ranked.
Vulnerability and resilience
| Social vulnerability | Relatively High 68.2 |
|---|---|
| Community resilience | Relatively Low 29.0 |
| Community risk factor | 1.32 |
| Expected annual loss, all hazards | $24 million |
FEMA scales expected losses up where social vulnerability is high (people who may find it harder to prepare, evacuate or recover) and down where community resilience is high. A factor above 1 raises the risk score. For social vulnerability a high rating is worse; for resilience a high rating is better.
Prepare for Laurel County's main hazards
- Right now: National Weather Service alerts for Kentucky · all official warnings on Global Incident Tracker.
- Winter weather: Power outages now · Carbon monoxide in winter
- Hail: Weather alerts for Kentucky
- Wildfire: US wildfires now · Wildfire smoke: what protects you
- Your property's flood zone: FEMA Flood Map Service Center ↗ — this page cannot tell you that.
- Official preparedness guidance: Ready.gov ↗ and your county emergency management office.
What this page shows, and what it misses
FEMA's National Risk Index rates a whole county against every other US county; it is a planning-level estimate for nationwide comparison, not a flood-zone map and not a substitute for a local risk assessment or the risk to one home. Declarations are presidential disaster, emergency and fire management declarations that named this county; state declarations and SBA or USDA designations are not included. Tornadoes are counted when the county is one of up to four listed on the track; 670 tornadoes that crossed a state line carry no county list in NOAA's file and are left out.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Risk Index Dataset: National Risk Index Counties - v1.20.0 (December 2025). Retrieved from https://services.arcgis.com/XG15cJAlne2vxtgt/ArcGIS/rest/services/National_Risk_Index_Counties/FeatureServer/0/query on November 2, 2026, 1:20 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets 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).
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), OpenFEMA Dataset: Disaster Declarations Summaries - v2, retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/api/open/v2/DisasterDeclarationsSummaries on November 2, 2026, 1:21 PM EST. 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).
Tornado records: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center, Severe Weather Database, tornadoes 1950–2025 (https://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/data/1950-2025_actual_tornadoes.csv, downloaded 2 November 2026). Public domain; not endorsed by NOAA. Compiled by Global Incident Tracker.
Questions about Laurel County
What natural disasters is Laurel County, Kentucky most at risk from?
Laurel County, Kentucky has a Relatively Low natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 71.7 out of 100, higher than about 71% of US counties, with winter storms, hail and wildfires scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $24 million a year in expected losses.
How many federal disaster declarations has Laurel County had?
OpenFEMA lists 26 federal disaster declarations that included Laurel County since 1970, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is DR-4913-KY (Severe Winter Storm, declared 29 May 2026). Another 4 Kentucky declarations were made statewide without a county list.
How many tornadoes have hit Laurel County?
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 20 tornadoes touching Laurel County from 1950 to 2025. The deadliest: 16 May 2025, EF4, 60.1 mi path, 18 killed, 0 injured (deaths and injuries are for the whole path).
Is the National Risk Index a flood zone map?
No. The National Risk Index is a planning-level estimate for a whole county, built for nationwide comparison. It does not tell you the flood zone or the risk of a single property: for that, look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center (msc.fema.gov) and ask your local floodplain manager.