Kanawha County, West Virginia: Natural Disaster Risk and History
Kanawha County, West Virginia has a Relatively High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 94.5 out of 100, higher than about 94% of US counties, with inland (river and flash) flooding, landslides and heat waves scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $143 million a year in expected losses.
OpenFEMA lists 33 federal disaster declarations that included Kanawha County since 1967, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is DR-4953-WV (Severe Storms and Flooding, declared 7 October 2026). NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 15 tornadoes touching Kanawha County from 1950 to 2025.
Live weather alerts for West Virginia All official warnings Latest FEMA declarations
Population 180,603 Buildings worth $43 billion Area 920 sq mi Risk rank in West Virginia 1 of 55 FIPS 54039
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 High | 97.9 | $133 million | about 4.2 a year | 118 |
| Landslide | Relatively Moderate | 96.2 | $159,279 | about 2.5 a year | — |
| Heat wave | Relatively Moderate | 91.7 | $3.1 million | about 4.2 a year | 70 |
| Lightning | Relatively High | 91.3 | $1.1 million | about 48 a year | 307,483 strikes |
| Strong wind | Relatively High | 88.8 | $1.7 million | about once every 1.2 years | 33 |
| Winter weather | Relatively High | 87.2 | $288,405 | about 9.6 a year | 183 |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | 83.0 | $920,994 | about 2.9 a year | 109 |
| Ice storm | Relatively Moderate | 81.6 | $409,217 | about once every 4.5 years | 15 |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | 76.3 | $1.1 million | about once every 917 years | — |
| Avalanche | Relatively Low | 75.0 | $13,202 | about once every 100 years | 0 |
| Hurricane | Relatively Low | 64.4 | $293,887 | about once every 51 years | 8 |
| Wildfire | Very Low | 61.5 | $82,942 | about once every 769 years | — |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | 35.2 | $599,845 | about once every 12 years | 7 |
| Cold wave | Relatively Low | 32.2 | $411,904 | about once every 1.4 years | 14 |
| Drought | Very Low | 23.0 | $7,144 | about 3 a year | 161 |
| 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 33
Most common: Severe Storm 14, Flood 10, Hurricane 3, Snowstorm 3.
| Decade | Declarations | Incident types |
|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1 | Flood |
| 1970s | 2 | Flood ×2 |
| 1980s | 1 | Flood |
| 1990s | 4 | Snowstorm ×2, Severe Storm, Flood |
| 2000s | 10 | Severe Storm ×7, Hurricane, Fire, Flood |
| 2010s | 9 | Severe Storm ×4, Hurricane ×2, Flood, Chemical, Snowstorm |
| 2020s | 6 | Flood ×3, Severe Storm ×2, Winter Storm |
The last 10
Widest declarations that included Kanawha 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 15
| Tornadoes touching the county | 15 |
|---|---|
| Strongest-rated | (E)F2 ×1 |
| Peak month | April (6) |
| Deadliest | 18 Apr 1969, F1, 0.3 mi path, 0 killed, 1 injured |
| Longest path | 2 Apr 2024, EF2, 8 mi path |
| Most recent | 2 Apr 2024, EF1, 5 mi path |
| Deaths / injuries on those paths | 0 / 1 |
| Rating | (E)F0 | (E)F1 | (E)F2 | (E)F3 | (E)F4 | (E)F5 | Unrated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 5 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Decade | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
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 Kanawha County compares with its 5 nearest counties
| County | Distance | Overall risk | Score | Top hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kanawha County (this page) | — | Relatively High | 94.5 | Inland flooding |
| Putnam County | 38 km | Relatively Low | 74.0 | Landslide |
| Boone County | 38 km | Relatively Low | 69.4 | Landslide |
| Clay County | 42 km | Very Low | 22.3 | Landslide |
| Roane County | 45 km | Relatively Low | 45.0 | Landslide |
| Lincoln County | 51 km | Relatively Low | 59.7 | Landslide |
Nearest by distance between county centres. Every county in West Virginia, ranked.
Vulnerability and resilience
| Social vulnerability | Relatively Moderate 58.0 |
|---|---|
| Community resilience | Very High 82.4 |
| Community risk factor | 1.18 |
| Expected annual loss, all hazards | $143 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 Kanawha 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
- Landslide: Landslides recorded
- Heat wave: Heatstroke warning signs
- 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 Kanawha County
What natural disasters is Kanawha County, West Virginia most at risk from?
Kanawha County, West Virginia has a Relatively High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 94.5 out of 100, higher than about 94% of US counties, with inland (river and flash) flooding, landslides and heat waves scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $143 million a year in expected losses.
How many federal disaster declarations has Kanawha County had?
OpenFEMA lists 33 federal disaster declarations that included Kanawha County since 1967, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is DR-4953-WV (Severe Storms and Flooding, declared 7 October 2026). Another 6 West Virginia declarations were made statewide without a county list.
How many tornadoes have hit Kanawha County?
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 15 tornadoes touching Kanawha County from 1950 to 2025. The deadliest: 18 Apr 1969, F1, 0.3 mi path, 0 killed, 1 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.