Wetzel County, West Virginia: Natural Disaster Risk and History
Wetzel County, West Virginia has a Relatively Low natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 56.9 out of 100, higher than about 56% of US counties, with landslides, inland (river and flash) flooding and hurricanes scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $16 million a year in expected losses.
OpenFEMA lists 26 federal disaster declarations that included Wetzel County since 1972, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is DR-4932-WV (Severe Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, declared 3 August 2026). NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 1 tornado touching Wetzel County from 1950 to 2025.
Live weather alerts for West Virginia All official warnings Latest FEMA declarations
Population 14,420 Buildings worth $3.1 billion Area 365 sq mi Risk rank in West Virginia 23 of 55 FIPS 54103
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 | 88.6 | $41,915 | about once every 1.1 years | — |
| Inland flooding | Relatively Moderate | 78.3 | $15 million | about 1.4 a year | 38 |
| Hurricane | Very Low | 50.9 | $65,425 | about once every 43 years | 8 |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | 44.4 | $161,624 | about 45 a year | 50,448 strikes |
| Ice storm | Relatively Low | 28.9 | $24,970 | about once every 3.2 years | 22 |
| Avalanche | Very Low | 28.9 | $83 | about once every 100 years | 0 |
| Hail | Very Low | 28.7 | $94,130 | about 2.4 a year | 92 |
| Drought | Very Low | 26.3 | $12,836 | about 3.1 a year | 77 |
| Heat wave | Very Low | 23.0 | $67,947 | about 2.5 a year | 42 |
| Earthquake | Very Low | 22.8 | $30,113 | rarer than once in 1,000 years | — |
| Cold wave | Very Low | 19.5 | $182,153 | about 2.5 a year | 47 |
| Tornado | Very Low | 15.9 | $133,400 | about once every 17 years | 1 |
| Strong wind | Very Low | 13.3 | $91,540 | about 1.2 a year | 46 |
| Wildfire | Very Low | 10.6 | $2,802 | rarer than once in 1,000 years | — |
| Winter weather | Very Low | 7.2 | $4,395 | about 8.5 a year | 162 |
| 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 11, Flood 8, Snowstorm 3, Hurricane 2.
| Decade | Declarations | Incident types |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1 | Flood |
| 1990s | 6 | Flood ×3, Snowstorm ×2, Severe Storm |
| 2000s | 7 | Severe Storm ×5, Hurricane, Flood |
| 2010s | 8 | Severe Storm ×4, Mud/Landslide, Flood, Hurricane, Snowstorm |
| 2020s | 4 | Flood ×2, Winter Storm, Severe Storm |
The last 10
Widest declarations that included Wetzel 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), Tropical Storm Agnes (1972).
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 1
| Tornadoes touching the county | 1 |
|---|---|
| Strongest-rated | (E)F1 ×1 |
| Peak month | July (1) |
| Deadliest | — |
| Longest path | 30 Jul 1996, F1, 10 mi path |
| Most recent | 30 Jul 1996, F1, 10 mi path |
| Deaths / injuries on those paths | 0 / 0 |
| Rating | (E)F0 | (E)F1 | (E)F2 | (E)F3 | (E)F4 | (E)F5 | Unrated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Decade | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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 Wetzel County compares with its 5 nearest counties
| County | Distance | Overall risk | Score | Top hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wetzel County (this page) | — | Relatively Low | 56.9 | Landslide |
| Tyler County | 26 km | Very Low | 35.6 | Landslide |
| Marshall County | 28 km | Relatively Low | 56.8 | Landslide |
| Marion County | 36 km | Relatively Low | 71.5 | Landslide |
| Doddridge County | 38 km | Very Low | 14.4 | Landslide |
| Monroe County, OH | 40 km | Very Low | 27.3 | Landslide |
Nearest by distance between county centres. Every county in West Virginia, ranked.
Vulnerability and resilience
| Social vulnerability | Relatively High 63.2 |
|---|---|
| Community resilience | Relatively High 66.8 |
| Community risk factor | 1.24 |
| Expected annual loss, all hazards | $16 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 Wetzel 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
- Hurricane: Is there a hurricane now? · Cyclone preparation
- 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 Wetzel County
What natural disasters is Wetzel County, West Virginia most at risk from?
Wetzel County, West Virginia has a Relatively Low natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 56.9 out of 100, higher than about 56% of US counties, with landslides, inland (river and flash) flooding and hurricanes scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $16 million a year in expected losses.
How many federal disaster declarations has Wetzel County had?
OpenFEMA lists 26 federal disaster declarations that included Wetzel County since 1972, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is DR-4932-WV (Severe Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, declared 3 August 2026). Another 6 West Virginia declarations were made statewide without a county list.
How many tornadoes have hit Wetzel County?
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 1 tornado touching Wetzel 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.