States › Kentucky › Pike County

Pike County, Kentucky

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 21195 · 57,391 residents (2021) · 787 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 138Tornado · 2Flood · 186Wind · 434Winter · 181

Pike County within Kentucky. Dots: HailTornadoFloodWind event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

The NCEI record lists 990 events for Pike County, Kentucky, between 1950 and 2026; damaging wind account for the largest share.

That is 125.8 events per 100 square miles, in line with the Kentucky figure of 140.0, and 172.5 per 10,000 residents against 122.6 statewide.

3 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 9 deaths and 9 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $26M and crop damage at $443K.

FEMA has designated the county in 47 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Winter Storm (emergency, 24 Jan 2026).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 2,480 claims since 1978, of which 2,164 were paid, totalling $56M (about $26K per paid claim). FEMA counts 927 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Moderate" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively Low" ($50M a year across 18 hazards).

5 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 0 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

3events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

990events since 19509 deaths, 9 injuries recorded

47disaster declarationslast 24 Jan 2026

2,480NFIP flood claims$56M paid

Compared with Kentucky and the United States

Measure	Pike County	Kentucky	US
Recorded events since 1950	990	55,285	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	125.8	140.0	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	172.5	122.6	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	3	1,254	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	9	599	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$26M	$3.5B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	43.2	6.2	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$26K	$22K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	56.4	37.3	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Hail: 1Wind: 3

Hail: 1Wind: 1

Hail: 1Wind: 8

Hail: 21Tornado: 1Flood: 7Wind: 31Winter: 10

Hail: 52Flood: 77Wind: 129Winter: 43Cold: 3Other: 4

Hail: 47Tornado: 1Flood: 62Wind: 178Winter: 111Heat: 2Cold: 11Drought: 3Wildfire: 1Lightning: 1Fog: 1Other: 10

Hail: 15Flood: 40Wind: 84Winter: 17Cold: 1Other: 12

01950s41960s21970s91980s701990s3082000s4282010s1692020s

Recorded events in Pike County by decade and hazard group. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterHeatColdDroughtWildfireLightningFogOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 757 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 218 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Wind434

Flood186

Winter181

Hail138

Other26

Cold15

Drought3

Tornado2

Heat2

Wildfire1

Lightning1

Fog1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	434	1	2.0%	detail
■ Flood	186	7	2.2%	detail
■ Winter	181	1	2.2%	detail
■ Hail	138	—	2.1%	detail
■ Other	26	—	2.5%
■ Cold	15	—	0.7%
■ Drought	3	—	0.3%
■ Tornado	2	—	0.1%
■ Heat	2	—	0.1%
■ Wildfire	1	—	2.1%
■ Lightning	1	—	0.4%
■ Fog	1	—	0.1%

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
3 Aug 2001	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$6.0M	—	2	—	County
17 Jul 2010	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$8K	—	2	—	County
2 Jan 2014	Winter Weather	Winter	—	—	—	1	3	Forecast zone
2 May 2002	Flood	Flood	—	$5.0M	$250K	1	—	Forecast zone
5 Aug 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	61 mph	$20K	—	1	—	County
17 Jul 2010	Flash Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	—	County
17 Jul 2010	Flash Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	—	County
18 May 1999	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$150K	—	—	2	County
9 Apr 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	63 mph	$8K	—	—	2	County
30 Jan 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	67 mph	$10K	—	—	1	County
4 Apr 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	64 mph	—	—	—	1	County
16 Feb 2003	Flood	Flood	—	$3.3M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
31 May 2004	Flood	Flood	—	$3.0M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
17 Jun 2003	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$2.8M	—	—	—	County
5 May 1996	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$1.0M	—	—	—	County
8 Aug 2000	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$500K	—	—	—	County
4 Aug 1997	Hail	Hail	2.00 in	$250K	—	—	—	County
15 Apr 2007	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$250K	—	—	—	County
12 Feb 2020	Heavy Rain	Other	—	$250K	—	—	—	County
12 Apr 2020	High Wind	Wind	79 mph	$150K	$55K	—	—	Forecast zone

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
24 Jan 2026	EM-3633	Emergency	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
3 Apr 2025	EM-3626	Emergency	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Public assistance
24 Feb 2025	DR-4860	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Individual assistance, Public assistance
16 Feb 2025	EM-3624	Emergency	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, And Landslides	Public assistance
29 Jul 2022	DR-4663	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Individual assistance, Public assistance
27 Feb 2022	DR-4643	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides	Public assistance
23 Apr 2021	DR-4595	Major disaster	Flood	Severe, Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
24 Apr 2020	DR-4540	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
28 Mar 2020	DR-4497	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3469	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
17 Apr 2019	DR-4428	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
12 Apr 2018	DR-4358	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
20 Nov 2016	FM-5166	Fire management assistance	Fire	Southeastern Kentucky Fire Complex	Public assistance
12 May 2015	DR-4218	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
1 May 2015	DR-4217	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
30 Apr 2015	DR-4216	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storms, Snowstorms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
30 Sep 2014	DR-4196	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
4 May 2011	DR-1976	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Individual assistance
23 Jul 2010	DR-1925	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides	Individual assistance, Public assistance
29 May 2009	DR-1841	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding And Mudslides	Individual assistance, Public assistance
25 May 2007	DR-1703	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, And Rockslides	Public assistance
10 Sep 2005	EM-3231	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina	Public assistance
10 Jun 2004	DR-1523	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, And Mudslides	Individual assistance, Public assistance
2 Jul 2003	DR-1475	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Mud And Rock Slides, And Tornadoes	Individual assistance, Public assistance
14 Mar 2003	DR-1454	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Ice And Snow Storms, Heavy Rain, Flooding, Tornadoes, And Mud And	Individual assistance, Public assistance
7 May 2002	DR-1414	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Apr 2002	DR-1407	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance
2 Nov 2001	FM-2386	Fire management assistance	Fire	Ky - Eastern Fire Complex - 11/02/2001	Public assistance
15 Aug 2001	DR-1388	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Nov 2000	FM-2350	Fire management assistance	Fire	Ky - Eastern District Fire Complex - 11/03/00	Public assistance
20 Nov 1999	FM-2288	Fire management assistance	Fire	Ky, Wildfires #001	Public assistance
29 Apr 1998	DR-1216	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes,And Flooding	Individual assistance
4 Mar 1997	DR-1163	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storm, Flooding, And Tornadoes	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Jan 1996	DR-1089	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Blizzard Of 96	Public assistance
13 Jun 1995	DR-1055	Major disaster	Tornado	Tornadoes, Severe Winds, Hail	Individual assistance
16 Mar 1993	EM-3104	Emergency	Snowstorm	Severe Snowfall & Winter Storm	Public assistance
30 Oct 1989	DR-846	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Mudslides & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
30 Jun 1989	DR-834	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
24 Feb 1989	DR-821	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
15 May 1984	DR-705	Major disaster	Severe Storm	High Winds, Tornadoes & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
19 Jul 1979	DR-592	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms,Flash Floods	Individual assistance, Public assistance
12 Dec 1978	DR-568	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
6 Apr 1977	DR-529	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
24 May 1975	DR-468	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
15 May 1972	DR-332	Major disaster	Flood	Heavy Rains & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
2 Feb 1970	DR-282	Major disaster	Flood	Heavy Snowmelt, Rains & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
27 Mar 1967	DR-226	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Pike County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 19782,480

Paid claims2,164

Total paid$56M

Average paid claim$26K

Repetitive-loss properties20233 severe

Residential policies in force9273.5% of 26,493 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2026	7	2	$26,780	$13,390
2025	305	284	$18,424,792	$64,876
2024	1	0	$0	—
2023	4	2	$19,524	$9,762
2022	136	125	$4,549,902	$36,399
2021	44	37	$892,498	$24,122
2020	4	4	$169,576	$42,394
2019	1	0	$0	—
2018	13	11	$167,186	$15,199
2017	8	7	$101,891	$14,556
2016	4	4	$35,587	$8,897
2015	44	39	$820,000	$21,026
2014	5	4	$80,988	$20,247
2013	9	8	$117,683	$14,710
2012	17	13	$195,090	$15,007
2011	7	3	$39,330	$13,110
2010	103	93	$6,434,221	$69,185
2009	223	208	$7,470,081	$35,914
2008	1	0	$0	—
2007	32	30	$333,209	$11,107
2006	1	0	$0	—
2005	1	1	$13,439	$13,439
2004	24	20	$277,355	$13,868
2003	74	63	$716,631	$11,375
2002	86	64	$881,008	$13,766

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskRelatively Moderatescore 87.9 of 100

Expected annual loss$50MRelatively Low

Social vulnerabilityRelatively High

Community resilienceVery Low

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively High	$44,812,969
Wildfire	Relatively Moderate	$999,833
Landslide	Relatively High	$980,217
Strong wind	Relatively Moderate	$737,560
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$603,595
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$564,746
Earthquake	Very Low	$280,982
Hail	Relatively Low	$218,357
Winter weather	Relatively Moderate	$173,689
Tornado	Very Low	$157,979
Lightning	Relatively Low	$110,377
Hurricane	Very Low	$57,066
Ice storm	Relatively Low	$29,938
Avalanche	Relatively Low	$11,863
Drought	Very Low	$2,589

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

Tracks within 100 miles5

Tracks within 50 miles3

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Opal	1995	92 mi	46 mph
Hugo	1989	78 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	14 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1932	36 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	49 mi	40 mph

HURDAT2 best-track positions at tropical-storm strength (34 kt) or more, measured from the county's Census centre point; through the 2025 season. Distance from a track is not the same as the extent of the storm's wind, rain or surge.

ZIP codes with flood claims

41501 876
41514 506
41503 139
41569 108
41572 95
41528 78
41562 52
41544 50
41535 45
41522 42
41557 42
41502 36
41564 24
41553 22
41560 17
41567 17
41570 17
41531 16
41549 16
41543 15
41527 13
41529 12
41563 12
41512 10
41526 9
41568 9
41510 8
41519 8
41547 8
41548 8
41559 8
41369 7
41538 7
41500 6
41520 6
41555 6
41539 5
41558 5

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Pike County, KY?

NCEI records 138 hail events in Pike County since 1950, in 30 different years; that is about 1.8 recorded events a year. 29 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Pike County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 2 tornadoes in Pike County since 1950, 0 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Pike County?

24 Jan 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a emergency declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 47 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Pike County, and how much was paid?

2,480 NFIP claims since 1978, 2,164 of them paid, for $56M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Pike County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Relatively Moderate" for overall risk, "Relatively Low" for expected annual loss, "Relatively High" for social vulnerability and "Very Low" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Pike County compare with the rest of Kentucky?

125.8 recorded events per 100 square miles against 140.0 statewide, and 43.2 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 6.2. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 1 Oct 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.