Putnam County, West Virginia: Natural Disaster Risk and History
Putnam County, West Virginia has a Relatively Low natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 74.0 out of 100, higher than about 74% of US counties, with landslides, inland (river and flash) flooding and heat waves scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $34 million a year in expected losses.
OpenFEMA lists 22 federal disaster declarations that included Putnam 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 8 tornadoes touching Putnam County from 1950 to 2025.
Live weather alerts for West Virginia All official warnings Latest FEMA declarations
Population 57,374 Buildings worth $12 billion Area 354 sq mi Risk rank in West Virginia 8 of 55 FIPS 54079
All 18 hazards, highest risk first
FEMA National Risk Index| Hazard | Risk rating | Score | Expected loss a year | How often | Events in record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Landslide | Relatively Moderate | 89.6 | $56,455 | about once every 1.1 years | — |
| Inland flooding | Relatively Moderate | 86.9 | $30 million | about 2.3 a year | 64 |
| Heat wave | Relatively Moderate | 84.2 | $2.0 million | about 4.5 a year | 75 |
| Ice storm | Relatively Moderate | 66.9 | $191,399 | about once every 2.5 years | 28 |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | 52.6 | $264,318 | about 48 a year | 81,242 strikes |
| Hurricane | Very Low | 51.5 | $87,034 | about once every 39 years | 8 |
| Wildfire | Very Low | 50.3 | $50,402 | rarer than once in 1,000 years | — |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 46.4 | $117,796 | about 4.7 a year | 168 |
| Earthquake | Very Low | 43.0 | $190,442 | about once every 917 years | — |
| Winter weather | Relatively Low | 39.7 | $46,629 | about 8.6 a year | 163 |
| Hail | Relatively Low | 38.5 | $174,683 | about 3 a year | 112 |
| Strong wind | Relatively Low | 32.3 | $328,614 | about 1.1 a year | 41 |
| Tornado | Very Low | 18.8 | $222,862 | about once every 18 years | 3 |
| Cold wave | Very Low | 14.3 | $147,492 | about once every 1.3 years | 15 |
| 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 22
Most common: Severe Storm 11, Flood 4, Hurricane 2, Snowstorm 2.
| Decade | Declarations | Incident types |
|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1 | Flood |
| 1980s | 1 | Flood |
| 1990s | 3 | Snowstorm ×2, Flood |
| 2000s | 9 | Severe Storm ×7, Hurricane, Flood |
| 2010s | 5 | Severe Storm ×3, Chemical, Hurricane |
| 2020s | 3 | Winter Storm, Severe Storm, Severe Ice Storm |
The last 10
Widest declarations that included Putnam 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 8
| Tornadoes touching the county | 8 |
|---|---|
| Strongest-rated | (E)F1 ×4 |
| Peak month | April (2) |
| Deadliest | 8 Dec 1978, F0, 0.1 mi path, 0 killed, 1 injured |
| Longest path | 2 Apr 2024, EF1, 8.5 mi path |
| Most recent | 26 May 2024, EF0, 0.3 mi path |
| Deaths / injuries on those paths | 0 / 1 |
| Rating | (E)F0 | (E)F1 | (E)F2 | (E)F3 | (E)F4 | (E)F5 | Unrated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Decade | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
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 Putnam County compares with its 5 nearest counties
| County | Distance | Overall risk | Score | Top hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Putnam County (this page) | — | Relatively Low | 74.0 | Landslide |
| Cabell County | 31 km | Relatively Moderate | 85.4 | Inland flooding |
| Mason County | 31 km | Relatively Low | 57.4 | Landslide |
| Kanawha County | 38 km | Relatively High | 94.5 | Inland flooding |
| Lincoln County | 40 km | Relatively Low | 59.7 | Landslide |
| Jackson County | 42 km | Relatively Low | 56.5 | Landslide |
Nearest by distance between county centres. Every county in West Virginia, ranked.
Vulnerability and resilience
| Social vulnerability | Relatively Low 34.4 |
|---|---|
| Community resilience | Relatively Moderate 58.9 |
| Community risk factor | 1.01 |
| Expected annual loss, all hazards | $34 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 Putnam County's main hazards
- Right now: National Weather Service alerts for West Virginia · all official warnings on Global Incident Tracker.
- Landslide: Landslides recorded
- Inland flooding: Flood safety: why shallow water kills · Floods 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 Putnam County
What natural disasters is Putnam County, West Virginia most at risk from?
Putnam County, West Virginia has a Relatively Low natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 74.0 out of 100, higher than about 74% of US counties, with landslides, inland (river and flash) flooding and heat waves scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $34 million a year in expected losses.
How many federal disaster declarations has Putnam County had?
OpenFEMA lists 22 federal disaster declarations that included Putnam 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 Putnam County?
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 8 tornadoes touching Putnam County from 1950 to 2025. The deadliest: 8 Dec 1978, F0, 0.1 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.