Cabell County, West Virginia: Natural Disaster Risk and History
Cabell County, West Virginia has a Relatively Moderate natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 85.4 out of 100, higher than about 85% of US counties, with inland (river and flash) flooding, heat waves and ice storms scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $49 million a year in expected losses.
OpenFEMA lists 30 federal disaster declarations that included Cabell County since 1967, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is EM-3639-WV (Severe Winter Storm, declared 24 January 2026). NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 4 tornadoes touching Cabell County from 1950 to 2025.
Live weather alerts for West Virginia All official warnings Latest FEMA declarations
Population 94,158 Buildings worth $23 billion Area 291 sq mi Risk rank in West Virginia 2 of 55 FIPS 54011
All 18 hazards, highest risk first
FEMA National Risk Index| Hazard | Risk rating | Score | Expected loss a year | How often | Events in record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inland flooding | Relatively Moderate | 91.9 | $41 million | about 2.8 a year | 78 |
| Heat wave | Relatively Moderate | 91.4 | $3.0 million | about 4.7 a year | 79 |
| Ice storm | Relatively High | 89.1 | $732,192 | about once every 2.3 years | 30 |
| Landslide | Relatively Moderate | 87.7 | $37,685 | about once every 1.3 years | — |
| Winter weather | Relatively Moderate | 75.7 | $149,331 | about 8.4 a year | 159 |
| Strong wind | Relatively Moderate | 72.3 | $902,278 | about 1.4 a year | 54 |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | 71.8 | $776,586 | about once every 840 years | — |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | 69.8 | $432,184 | about 48 a year | 128,534 strikes |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | 69.2 | $144,305 | about once every 877 years | — |
| Hail | Relatively Low | 59.8 | $329,949 | about 3.1 a year | 119 |
| Hurricane | Very Low | 57.2 | $132,032 | about once every 43 years | 8 |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | 55.1 | $1.3 million | about once every 24 years | 4 |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 35.1 | $35,927 | about 3.5 a year | 126 |
| Cold wave | Relatively Low | 25.6 | $293,672 | about once every 1.2 years | 16 |
| 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 30
Most common: Severe Storm 13, Flood 7, Hurricane 2, Fire 2.
| Decade | Declarations | Incident types |
|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1 | Flood |
| 1970s | 2 | Flood ×2 |
| 1990s | 5 | Snowstorm ×2, Severe Storm, Flood, Fire |
| 2000s | 10 | Severe Storm ×7, Hurricane, Fire, Flood |
| 2010s | 8 | Severe Storm ×4, Mud/Landslide, Flood, Chemical, Hurricane |
| 2020s | 4 | Winter Storm, Severe Storm, Flood, Severe Ice Storm |
The last 10
Widest declarations that included Cabell County
- Severe Winter Storm (2026, EM-3639-WV): 55 West Virginia counties designated.
- Hurricane Sandy (2012, EM-3358-WV): 55 West Virginia counties designated.
- Severe Storms (2012, EM-3345-WV): 55 West Virginia counties designated.
Named storms in its declarations: Hurricane Sandy (2012), Hurricane Katrina (2005).
Not counted above: 2 COVID-19 ("Biological") declarations — in 2020 every US county was included. West Virginia also had 6 statewide declarations with no county list.
Tornado record since 1950 4
| Tornadoes touching the county | 4 |
|---|---|
| Strongest-rated | (E)F1 ×3 |
| Peak month | April (2) |
| Deadliest | — |
| Longest path | 2 Apr 2024, EF1, 4.2 mi path |
| Most recent | 2 Apr 2024, EF1, 0.6 mi path |
| Deaths / injuries on those paths | 0 / 0 |
| Rating | (E)F0 | (E)F1 | (E)F2 | (E)F3 | (E)F4 | (E)F5 | Unrated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Decade | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
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 Cabell County compares with its 5 nearest counties
| County | Distance | Overall risk | Score | Top hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cabell County (this page) | — | Relatively Moderate | 85.4 | Inland flooding |
| Putnam County | 31 km | Relatively Low | 74.0 | Landslide |
| Lincoln County | 31 km | Relatively Low | 59.7 | Landslide |
| Lawrence County, OH | 32 km | Relatively Low | 71.0 | Heat wave |
| Wayne County | 35 km | Relatively Low | 79.8 | Landslide |
| Boyd County, KY | 39 km | Relatively Low | 74.9 | Heat wave |
Nearest by distance between county centres. Every county in West Virginia, ranked.
Vulnerability and resilience
| Social vulnerability | Relatively Moderate 59.2 |
|---|---|
| Community resilience | Relatively High 73.9 |
| Community risk factor | 1.20 |
| Expected annual loss, all hazards | $49 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 Cabell County's main hazards
- Right now: National Weather Service alerts for West Virginia · all official warnings on Global Incident Tracker.
- Inland flooding: Flood safety: why shallow water kills · Floods recorded
- Heat wave: Heatstroke warning signs
- Ice storm: Power outages now · Carbon monoxide in winter
- 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 Cabell County
What natural disasters is Cabell County, West Virginia most at risk from?
Cabell County, West Virginia has a Relatively Moderate natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 85.4 out of 100, higher than about 85% of US counties, with inland (river and flash) flooding, heat waves and ice storms scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $49 million a year in expected losses.
How many federal disaster declarations has Cabell County had?
OpenFEMA lists 30 federal disaster declarations that included Cabell County since 1967, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is EM-3639-WV (Severe Winter Storm, declared 24 January 2026). Another 6 West Virginia declarations were made statewide without a county list.
How many tornadoes have hit Cabell County?
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 4 tornadoes touching Cabell County from 1950 to 2025.
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.