Automated baseline from FEMA and NOAA data, release 2026-10.

Washington County, AL

Risk-assessment baseline packet. County FIPS 01129. Release 2026-10, data as of 2026-09-30.

Summary

Plan status as of 2026-09-30: Expired on 2026-05-10. Plan: Division A, Phase 3 (FEMA plan 108492), approved 2021-05-11.

Since the plan was approved on 2021-05-11: 1 new hazard declaration (1 incident) and 35 NOAA Storm Events records; details under "What changed since your last plan".

Highest expected annual loss (FEMA National Risk Index, modeled total; see B1-a): Hurricane ($3,594,079 a year), Inland Flooding ($3,394,992) and Tornado ($1,661,286).

The packet's tables are organized by the items of FEMA's Local Mitigation Plan Review Tool, Element B (B1-a to B2-c); the summaries below follow the same order.

Download the packet

Full packet as a web page. File manifest (checksums, source versions).

Plan clock

Expired on 2026-05-10

Plan:
Division A, Phase 3 (FEMA plan 108492)
Approved:
2021-05-11
Days since expiry:
143
Update underway:
none recorded in FEMA's plan tracker

Until a new plan is approved, FEMA mitigation project grants (HMGP, FMA) need a FEMA exception (44 CFR 201.6(a)(3)).

What changed since your last plan (approved 2021-05-11)

New federal declarations:
1 new hazard declaration (1 incident): EM-3618-AL (Hurricane Helene)
Storm Events records since approval:
35 records (data through 2026-06-30)
Repetitive loss now:
FMA RL 0, SRL 0 (44 CFR 77.2); any definition: 1
Repeat-flood change:
this release sets the baseline count.

Plan status for every jurisdiction listed in this county

5 jurisdictions. Each row is that jurisdiction's own plan clock. Notes include other approved plans FEMA lists for the same jurisdiction.

JurisdictionTypeStatusPlanApprovedExpiresDays to expirynegative = days since expiryNotes
Washington County (unincorporated area)UnincorporatedExpired on 2026-05-10Division A, Phase 3 (FEMA plan 108492)2021-05-112026-05-10-143This jurisdiction approved 2023-05-10.
Chatom townTownExpired on 2026-05-10Division A, Phase 3 (FEMA plan 108492)2021-05-112026-05-10-143This jurisdiction approved 2023-06-06.
McIntosh townTownExpired on 2026-05-10Division A, Phase 3 (FEMA plan 108492)2021-05-112026-05-10-143
Millry townTownExpired on 2026-05-10Division A, Phase 3 (FEMA plan 108492)2021-05-112026-05-10-143This jurisdiction approved 2023-06-22.
Washington County School DistrictSchool/School DistrictExpired on 2026-05-10Division A, Phase 3 (FEMA plan 108492)2021-05-112026-05-10-143

Plan 108492 lists 6 other participants: Beatrice town (Monroe County); Excel town (Monroe County); Frisco City town (Monroe County); Monroe County (unincorporated area); Monroeville city (Monroe County); Vredenburgh town (Monroe County).

State plan status and tribal plans in this state: see the state page.

What the packet contains

Sections in FEMA checklist order; each heading names the review item its tables support. Full tables are in the downloads above.

Supports FEMA checklist item B1-a Hazard identification

15 of the 18 National Risk Index hazards apply here.

Not applicable to this county per NRI, with no federal declaration and no Storm Events record since 1996: avalanche, tsunami and volcanic activity. That is the evidence for leaving them out of the plan.

Highest expected annual loss (NRI, modeled): Hurricane, Inland Flooding and Tornado.

Not covered by NRI (local data needed): dam failure (incl. upstream dams); levee failure; flash flood as its own subtype; ice jams; debris flows; erosion (riverine and coastal); land subsidence and sinkholes; expansive soils.

The state hazard mitigation plan also lists hazards for this county; FEMA asks the plan to explain any hazard it leaves out.

Supports FEMA checklist item B1-b Hazard location

  • Coastal Flooding and Inland Flooding: the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) is the required location source for flooding. See the FEMA Flood Map Service Center (https://msc.fema.gov) for this county.
  • Cold Wave, Drought, Hail, Heat Wave, Ice Storm, Lightning, Strong Wind and Winter Weather: affects the whole county; national data give no location within it.
  • Earthquake, Hurricane, Landslide, Tornado and Wildfire vary within the county; the packet lists the highest-rated census tracts for each.

Supports FEMA checklist item B1-c Hazard extent

Storm Events records for 10 of the 20 NOAA event-type groups mapped to the 18 hazards, with the scale, observed range and worst recorded event for each; the others say which local data are needed.

Worst recorded tornado, hail and thunderstorm wind (the three event types on record since the 1950s; the packet has every group):

  • Hail: 2.75 in hail, 1998-04-17
  • Thunderstorm Wind: 80 kt (92 mph), measurement type not recorded, Thunderstorm Wind, 1998-06-05; same speed and measurement basis also recorded on 1998-04-17
  • Tornado: EF3 tornado, 2011-04-15, 5.93 mi within this county, 400 yd wide, $2,000,000 property; crops not reported (2011 dollars), 3 direct deaths, 3 direct injuries

Supports FEMA checklist item B1-d Previous occurrences

Federal declarations for this area: 27 declarations covering 20 separate hazard incidents counted in this packet; each with type, dates and county Public Assistance dollars.

New since the last plan (approved 2021-05-11): EM-3618-AL.

1 statewide declaration listed separately.

Hazards with no Storm Events record and no federal declaration are stated as such (8 of 18).

Storm Events history: 339 records (notable ones in the PDF, all of them in the Excel file).

Supports FEMA checklist item B1-e Probability of future events

FEMA annualized frequency (modeled) for each hazard, with a descriptor from a scale defined in the packet.

  • Highly likely: Hail, Lightning and Strong Wind
  • Likely: Hurricane, Inland Flooding, Landslide, Tornado and Winter Weather
  • Possible: Coastal Flooding, Drought and Heat Wave
  • Unlikely: Earthquake and Wildfire

Historical frequency by intensity band (tornado, hail, wind): 9 bands from Storm Events.

Supports FEMA checklist item B1-f Hazards that vary across jurisdictions

Range of census tract risk scores within the area for 15 of the 18 hazards (5 tracts; rated tracts only).

4 jurisdictions: plan clock, repeat-flood count, Public Assistance dollars and event records naming the place (starting figures from federal data).

County Public Assistance in B1-d also includes applicants filed under the county that are not matched to a jurisdiction row here (for example county departments filed under their own names, such as a highway department or emergency management agency, and state agencies, special districts and nonprofits), so the jurisdiction rows add up to less.

Supports FEMA checklist items B2-a and B2-b Vulnerability and potential impacts

The packet's table gives county-level starting figures; the plan describes impacts for each jurisdiction and its own assets.

Storm Events damage since 2021-05-11: $10,000 in county-coded records (33 records); $0 reported for the zone (2 zone records). Data through 2026-06-30; nominal dollars.

Local data needed

To gather:

  • Critical facilities and lifelines per hazard
  • A problem statement per jurisdiction per hazard
  • Changes in development in hazard-prone areas since the last approval, or a statement of none (E1-a)
  • Future assets

Supports FEMA checklist item B2-a Vulnerability (county context)

Population 15,333; building value $2,580,264,110 and agriculture value $40,258,404 (total, not at risk).

National Risk Index rating Relatively Low; social vulnerability Relatively High; community resilience Relatively High.

Supports FEMA checklist item B2-c Repetitive loss properties

Repetitive-loss properties, FMA definition (44 CFR 77.2): 0 repetitive loss, 0 severe repetitive loss. NFIP insurance definition: 1 and 0.

Mitigated 0; insured 0; NFIP data as of 2026-08-02. Counts by occupancy group and for each jurisdiction are in the packet.

Releases

Each release is dated; this is release 2026-10. It was first published 2026-09-30; its files do not change except for dated corrections listed on the changelog (corrected 2026-10-01). Later releases will be listed here with what changed between them. All releases.

Cite this

Hazard Plain (2026). Washington County, AL: risk-assessment baseline packet, release 2026-10 (data as of 2026-09-30; County FIPS 01129). Automated baseline. https://hazardplain.org/al/01129/ Built from FEMA OpenFEMA, the FEMA National Risk Index and NOAA NCEI Storm Events; source versions in the packet's Sources list.

Source citations for the plan's bibliography (8)

How this packet is built: methods and sources