Hazard Plain Automated baseline

Lawrence County, AL

Risk-assessment baseline packet

County FIPS:
01079
Release:
2026-10
Data as of:
2026-09-30
Storm Events data through:
2026-06-30

Hazard Plain is an independent product built from public federal data. It is not a FEMA document and is not reviewed or endorsed by FEMA or any state agency.

Hazard Plain release 2026-10, as of 2026-09-30.

Summary

Plan status as of 2026-09-30: Plan 111862 approved 2026-09-03, pending adoption here; not yet eligible. Plan: Lawrence County (FEMA plan 111862), pending adoption here, approved 2026-09-03 by FEMA; not yet adopted here.

Update: FEMA tracker shows a plan approvable pending adoption.

Highest expected annual loss (FEMA National Risk Index, modeled total; see B1-a): Inland Flooding ($7,454,417 a year), Tornado ($5,395,797) and Cold Wave ($2,649,429).

The tables that follow are organized by the items of FEMA's Local Mitigation Plan Review Tool, Element B (B1-a to B2-c); each heading says which item its tables support.

Plan clock

Status:
Plan 111862 approved 2026-09-03, pending adoption here; not yet eligible
Plan:
Lawrence County (FEMA plan 111862), pending adoption here
Approved:
2026-09-03 by FEMA; not yet adopted here
Expires:
2031-09-02 once adopted
Update underway:
FEMA tracker shows a plan approvable pending adoption

Not yet eligible: adopt the approved plan.

Not yet eligible: adopt the approved plan.

What changed since your last plan

Not available. Plan 111862 was approved by FEMA on 2026-09-03 but is not yet adopted here, so no since-plan counts are given.

Sources: 1, 2, 4, 6 (numbered list at the end)

Plan status for every jurisdiction listed in this county

Source: 1

JurisdictionTypeStatusPlanApprovedExpiresDays to expirynegative = days since expiryUpdate underwayNotes
Lawrence County (unincorporated area)UnincorporatedPlan 111862 approved 2026-09-03, pending adoption here; not yet eligibleLawrence County (FEMA plan 111862), pending adoption here2026-09-03 by FEMA; not yet adopted here2031-09-02 once adoptedFEMA tracker shows a plan approvable pending adoptionNot yet eligible: adopt the approved plan.
Courtland townTownPlan 111862 approved 2026-09-03, pending adoption here; not yet eligibleLawrence County (FEMA plan 111862), pending adoption here2026-09-03 by FEMA; not yet adopted here2031-09-02 once adoptedFEMA tracker shows a plan approvable pending adoptionNot yet eligible: adopt the approved plan.
Hillsboro townTownPlan 111862 approved 2026-09-03, pending adoption here; not yet eligibleLawrence County (FEMA plan 111862), pending adoption here2026-09-03 by FEMA; not yet adopted here2031-09-02 once adoptedFEMA tracker shows a plan approvable pending adoptionNot yet eligible: adopt the approved plan.
Moulton cityCityApproved, expires 2031-09-02Lawrence County (FEMA plan 111862)2026-09-032031-09-021,798this jurisdiction approved 2026-09-28
North Courtland townTownPlan 111862 approved 2026-09-03, pending adoption here; not yet eligibleLawrence County (FEMA plan 111862), pending adoption here2026-09-03 by FEMA; not yet adopted here2031-09-02 once adoptedFEMA tracker shows a plan approvable pending adoptionNot yet eligible: adopt the approved plan.
Town Creek townTownApproved, expires 2031-09-02Lawrence County (FEMA plan 111862)2026-09-032031-09-021,798

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

Supports FEMA checklist item B1-a: hazard identification

Hazards NRI does not cover (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 18 National Risk Index hazards, ranked by expected annual loss (EAL)

Sources: 5, 6

Rank by EALHazardNRI risk ratingEAL ratingEAL buildingsmodeled dollars per yearEAL agriculturemodeled dollars per yearCost of expected deaths and injuriesFEMA's dollar value per year, not property damageEAL total (see note)modeled dollars per yearStorm Events records, 1996 to 2026-06-30countStorm Events coverage note
1Inland FloodingRelatively LowRelatively Low$7,378,546$6,042$69,829$7,454,41767
2TornadoRelatively HighRelatively Moderate$799,646$25,837$4,570,314$5,395,79733
3Cold WaveRelatively ModerateRelatively Moderate$3,435$269,482$2,376,512$2,649,42967Includes 47 Frost/Freeze records (outside NRI's Cold Wave definition; counted in this table and in B1-d, not in the B1-e descriptor).
4EarthquakeRelatively LowRelatively Low$1,048,536n/a$649,001$1,697,537Storm Events does not record earthquakes.
5Heat WaveRelatively ModerateRelatively Low$41$13,781$1,173,156$1,186,97869
6Strong WindRelatively ModerateRelatively Moderate$303,970$9,413$390,738$704,122315Includes 7 High Wind and 12 Strong Wind records (NOAA non-thunderstorm wind types, outside NRI's Strong Wind definition).
7LightningRelatively HighRelatively Moderate$14,065n/a$636,071$650,13711
8DroughtRelatively ModerateRelatively Moderaten/a$444,871n/a$444,87140
9HurricaneRelatively LowRelatively Low$81,956$120,816$4,562$207,3332Includes 1 Tropical Depression record (outside NRI's Hurricane definition).
10HailVery LowVery Low$42,216$27,836$1,481$71,534147
11Ice StormRelatively LowRelatively Low$43,529n/a$12,689$56,2184
12Winter WeatherVery LowRelatively Low$2,040$203$13,092$15,33545Includes 1 Sleet record (outside NRI's Winter Weather definition).
13WildfireVery LowVery Low$9,086$125$3,572$12,7831
14LandslideVery LowVery Low$14n/a$42$560No recorded events in Storm Events since 1996 (data through 2026-06-30).

Total = buildings + agriculture + population equivalence; FEMA values each expected death (or 10 injuries) at $13.7 million (2024 dollars).

NRI risk rating combines expected annual loss with social vulnerability and community resilience; EAL rating rates expected annual loss alone. Both compare this county with all U.S. counties.

Local data needed: state and local landslide records (Storm Events records this hazard only in part).

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

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

Affects the whole county (national data give no location within it): Cold Wave, Drought, Hail, Heat Wave, Ice Storm, Lightning, Strong Wind and Winter Weather.

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.

Hazards that vary within the county: highest-rated census tracts

Source: 5

HazardHighest-rated census tractsNRI risk rating, score 0 to 100
Earthquaketract 9794 (Relatively Moderate, 87.6); tract 9793 (Relatively Moderate, 83.7); tract 9796 (Relatively Moderate, 82.0)
Hurricanetract 9794 (Relatively Low, 64.8); tract 9793 (Relatively Low, 64.1); tract 9796 (Relatively Low, 61.8)
Landslidetract 9799 (Very Low, 66.6); tract 9793 (Very Low, 66.1); tract 9797 (Very Low, 63.9)
Tornadotract 9796 (Very High, 99.7); tract 9793 (Very High, 99.5); tract 9794 (Very High, 99.5)
Wildfiretract 9794 (Relatively Low, 76.4); tract 9798 (Relatively Low, 73.5); tract 9796 (Relatively Low, 73.2)

Up to 3 census tracts per hazard, highest National Risk Index rating first, then highest score; a tract number is the Census tract number (for example 9794 is Census Tract 9794). FEMA's Resilience Analysis and Planning Tool maps the National Risk Index for every tract: https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/practitioners/resilience-analysis-and-planning-tool

Supports FEMA checklist item B1-c: hazard extent

Extent: scale, observed range and worst recorded event per hazard

Sources: 6, 7

HazardScaleRecordscount and yearsObserved rangeWorst recorded eventMost damaging (when different)How it applies to jurisdictionsNote
Cold/Wind Chill, Extreme Cold/Wind Chillwind chill20 records, 1996 to 2026 (20 zone-level)1 day to 4 days (median 2 days); 15 with a recorded value4 consecutive days, 1996-03-07 to 1996-03-10, zone-levelCountywide (zone-level records).
Frost/Freeze (outside NRI's Cold Wave definition)crop damage47 records, 2007 to 2025 (47 zone-level)No crop damage reported in 47 records.Countywide (zone-level records).
DroughtU.S. Drought Monitor scale (D0 to D4)40 records, 2007 to 2026 (40 zone-level)8 days to 423 days (median 46 days); 12 with a recorded value423 days (about 13.9 months), 2007-07-01 to 2008-08-26, a run of 14 consecutive Storm Events drought records, zone-levelCountywide (zone-level records).Storm Events enters a drought at D2 or worse east of the Rockies and D3 or worse from the Rockies west (NWS Instruction 10-1605); NRI drought counts D3 and D4 only.
EarthquakeModified Mercalli (local data)0Storm Events does not record earthquakes; the USGS earthquake catalog is the source.
Hailhail size (inches)181 records, 1976 to 20260.25 in to 3.5 in (median 1 in); 181 with a recorded value3.5 in hail, 1997-05-26Hail, 2010-03-12, $50,000 property; $0 crops (2010 dollars)Event records naming jurisdictions in the plan: Moulton city (56 records), Town Creek town (11 records), Courtland town (10 records), Hillsboro town (2 records).
Excessive Heat, Heatheat index (in event narratives)69 records, 1996 to 2025 (69 zone-level)1 day to 31 days (median 2 days); 40 with a recorded valueAugust 2007 (1 monthly summary record), zone-levelCountywide (zone-level records).Heat records from November to March (unseasonable warmth, not a heat wave) are counted but not used for the longest run.
Hurricane, Tropical Storm, Tropical DepressionSaffir-Simpson2 records, 2005 to 2018 (2 zone-level)Strongest recorded: Tropical Storm record, 2005-08-29 to 2005-08-30, damage not reported; NWS zone ALZ004Countywide (zone-level records).Storm Events files every zone of a storm's episode under the storm's type; flooding from the storm is filed as Flood or Flash Flood records.
Ice StormSperry-Piltz ice scale (local data)4 records, 1998 to 2021 (4 zone-level)Ice Storm, 1998-12-23, $1,200,000 property; $0 crops (1998 dollars); NWS zone ALZ004Countywide (zone-level records).
Flash Flood, Flood, Lakeshore Flooddamage and flood days (flood depth: FIRM)67 records, 1996 to 2025 (3 zone-level)Flash Flood, 2013-07-04, $50,000 property; $0 crops (2013 dollars)Event records naming jurisdictions in the plan: Moulton city (23 records), Town Creek town (4 records), Courtland town (3 records), Hillsboro town (1 record). Zone-level records (3) apply countywide.Flood depth: see the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map. Storm Events damage is often $0 or blank for floods, major ones included; FEMA Public Assistance by declaration (B1-d) shows which floods cost the most.
Debris Flownone (count and damage only)0
Lightningannualized frequency (the measure FEMA's Local Mitigation Planning Handbook names)11 records, 1997 to 2016Lightning, 2016-07-19, $0 property; $0 crops (2016 dollars), 1 direct deathLightning, 2010-03-12, $120,000 property; $0 crops (2010 dollars)Event records naming jurisdictions in the plan: Moulton city (5 records), Town Creek town (1 record).Storm Events lists lightning with damage or casualties.
High Wind and Strong Wind (outside NRI's Strong Wind definition)wind speed (kt and mph)19 records, 1996 to 2024 (19 zone-level)35 kt (40 mph) to 52 kt (60 mph) (median 43 kt (49 mph)); 19 with a recorded value52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust, High Wind, 2009-02-11; NWS zone ALZ004Strong Wind, 2009-04-12, $100,000 property; $0 crops (zone total, 2009 dollars)Countywide (zone-level records).
Thunderstorm Windwind speed (kt and mph)363 records, 1965 to 202635 kt (40 mph) to 100 kt (115 mph) (median 52 kt (60 mph)); 301 with a recorded value100 kt (115 mph) estimated gust, Thunderstorm Wind, 2012-07-05Event records naming jurisdictions in the plan: Moulton city (64 records), Town Creek town (26 records), Courtland town (25 records), Hillsboro town (11 records).
TornadoEnhanced Fujita (Fujita before Feb 2007)45 records, 1957 to 2025F/EF0 to F/EF5 (median F/EF1); 44 with a recorded valueF5 tornado, 1974-04-03, 24.4 mi path length (whole path, pre-1996), 500 yd wide, damage not recorded (pre-1996 record), 14 direct deaths, 60 direct injuriesTornado, 2011-04-27, $40,000,000 property; $0 crops (2011 dollars)Event records naming jurisdictions in the plan: Moulton city (2 records), Courtland town (1 record), Hillsboro town (1 record), Town Creek town (1 record).Before 1996 a tornado is listed once, under the county where it began, with its whole path's rating and length; from 1996 on, each county lists its own segment. Length is not used to rank tornadoes (see Methods).
Wildfireacres burned (local data)1 record, 2015 (1 zone-level)No damage reported in 1 record.Countywide (zone-level records).
Winter Storm, Heavy Snow, Blizzard, Lake-Effect Snow, Winter Weather, Sleetnone in data (snowfall: local data)45 records, 1996 to 2025 (45 zone-level)Winter Storm, 1996-02-01, $65,000 property; crops not reported (1996 dollars); NWS zone ALZ004Countywide (zone-level records).

In event narratives only (local data needed): wind chill, temperature, heat index, ice thickness, acres burned and snow depth; any physical measure of debris flow and lightning.

Storm Events records are more complete after 1996; before 1996 only Tornado (from 1950), Hail and Thunderstorm Wind (from 1955) exist. Zone-level records from zones that no NWS zone-county file places in this county (mostly before 2020) are not counted here (the Methods page explains the zone matching).

Dollars are nominal (as reported), labeled with the year; not adjusted for inflation.

A monthly summary record covers most or all of a month; it does not count days at wave conditions.

Supports FEMA checklist item B1-d: previous occurrences

Federal declarations for this county: 22 declarations covering 18 separate hazard incidents counted in this packet (declarations for the same incident count once; non-natural and evacuation-only declarations are not counted).

Plan 111862 was approved by FEMA on 2026-09-03 but is not yet adopted here, so no since-plan counts are given.

Federal disaster declarations for this county

Sources: 1, 2, 3

DeclaredIncident beganFEMA numberTypeTitleMapped hazardCounty Public Assistancefederal share obligated, nominal dollarsFlagsNotes
2024-09-262024-09-22EM-3618-ALEmergencyHurricane HeleneHurricane (primary); also designated: Tornadono Public Assistance recordedwithin last 5 years
2020-09-142020-09-14EM-3545-ALEmergencyHurricane SallyHurricaneno Public Assistance recorded
2020-03-292020-01-20DR-4503-ALMajor disasterCOVID-19 PandemicNon-natural, not countedno Public Assistance recorded
2020-03-132020-01-20EM-3472-ALEmergencyCOVID-19Non-natural, not countedno Public Assistance recordedsame incident as DR-4503
2017-09-112017-09-08EM-3389-ALEmergencyHurricane IrmaHurricaneno Public Assistance recorded
2016-01-212015-12-23DR-4251-ALMajor disasterSevere Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and FloodingInland Flooding; Strong Wind; Tornado$228,088.49
2011-04-282011-04-15DR-1971-ALMajor disasterSevere Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and FloodingInland Flooding; Strong Wind; Tornado$740,823.21
2011-04-272011-04-27EM-3319-ALEmergencySevere Storms, Tornadoes, and Straight-Line WindsStrong Wind; Tornadono Public Assistance recordedsame incident as DR-1971
2008-08-302008-08-29EM-3292-ALEmergencyHurricane GustavHurricaneno Public Assistance recorded
2005-09-102005-08-29EM-3237-ALEmergencyHurricane Katrina EvacuationHurricane: evacuation support, not a local hazard event; not countedno Public Assistance recorded
2004-09-152004-09-13DR-1549-ALMajor disasterHurricane IvanHurricane$58,856.79
2003-05-122003-05-05DR-1466-ALMajor disasterSevere Storms, Tornadoes, and FloodingInland Flooding; TornadoPA not declared for this county
2002-11-142002-11-05DR-1442-ALMajor disasterSevere Storms and TornadoesTornadoPA not declared for this county
2001-12-072001-11-24DR-1399-ALMajor disasterSevere Storms and TornadoesTornadoPA not declared for this county
1999-01-151998-12-23DR-1261-ALMajor disasterRiv-Severe Winter Wx 12/23/98Winter Weather$39,933.19
1996-02-231996-02-01DR-1104-ALMajor disasterSevere Winter Storms, Ice and FloodingInland Flooding; Winter Weatherno Public Assistance recorded
1994-03-031994-01-16DR-1013-ALMajor disasterSevere Winter Storms, Freezing, FloodingInland Flooding; Winter Weatherno Public Assistance recorded
1993-03-151993-03-13EM-3096-ALEmergencySevere Snowfall, Winter StormWinter Weatherno Public Assistance recorded
1991-01-041990-12-21DR-890-ALMajor disasterSevere Storms & FloodingInland Floodingno Public Assistance recorded
1977-07-201977-07-20EM-3045-ALEmergencyDroughtDroughtno Public Assistance recorded
1974-04-041974-04-04DR-422-ALMajor disasterTornadoesTornadono Public Assistance recorded
1973-03-271973-03-27DR-369-ALMajor disasterTornadoes & FloodingTornado (primary); also designated: Inland Floodingno Public Assistance recorded

County Public Assistance: applicants the FEMA record places in this county, including any state agencies FEMA files there; statewide rows are listed on the state page; federal share obligated, nominal dollars.

Statewide declarations

Source: 2

DeclaredIncident beganFEMA numberTypeTitleMapped hazard
1961-02-271961-02-27DR-109-ALMajor disasterFloodsInland Flooding

FEMA recorded these with designated area Statewide and no county, so they are listed on every county page in the state and not counted with county rows. Local data needed: whether each one affected this county.

Previous occurrences by hazard, with explicit no-event rows

Sources: 2, 6, 7

HazardStorm Events records, all years on file(years in the Period column)Since plan approvalrecordsIn the 12 months before plan approvalrecordsLast 5 yearsrecordsDeclared incidents, all yearsseparate disastersDeclared since approvalseparate disastersPeriodStatement
Cold Wave672501996 to 2026-06-30Includes 47 Frost/Freeze records.
Drought401211996 to 2026-06-30
Earthquake000Storm Events does not record earthquakes; the USGS earthquake catalog is the source.
Hail1811801955 to 2026-06-30
Heat Wave693801996 to 2026-06-30
Hurricane2051996 to 2026-06-30Includes 1 Tropical Depression record.
Ice Storm4001996 to 2026-06-30
Inland Flooding671171996 to 2026-06-30
Landslide0001996 to 2026-06-30No recorded events, 1996 to 2026-06-30, NOAA NCEI Storm Events
Lightning11001996 to 2026-06-30
Strong Wind3829121955 to 2026-06-30Includes 7 High Wind and 12 Strong Wind records.
Tornado45681950 to 2026-06-30
Wildfire1001996 to 2026-06-30
Winter Weather45541996 to 2026-06-30Includes 1 Sleet record.

Notable Storm Events records

Sources: 1, 6, 7

DateEvent typeMagnitude or extentDamagenominal dollarsDeaths, injuriesdirect onlyLocationWhy listed
2016-07-19Lightning$0 property; $0 crops (2016 dollars)1, 0HATTONB1-c worst recorded: Lightning
2013-07-04Flash Flood$50,000 property; $0 crops (2013 dollars)0, 0MOULTONB1-c worst recorded: Flash Flood, Flood, Lakeshore Flood
2012-07-05Thunderstorm Wind100 kt (115 mph) estimated gust$2,500,000 property; $0 crops (2012 dollars)0, 0MOULTONB1-c worst recorded: Thunderstorm Wind
2011-04-27TornadoEF5, 28.19 mi within this county, 2,200 yd wide$40,000,000 property; $0 crops (2011 dollars)14, 0MT HOPE to FISH PONDdeaths or injuries recorded
2009-02-11High Wind52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust$2,000 property; $0 crops (zone total, 2009 dollars)0, 0NWS zone ALZ004 (LAWRENCE), zone-levelB1-c worst recorded: High Wind and Strong Wind
2008-02-06TornadoEF4, 14 mi within this county, 880 yd widedamage not reported4, 23LEOLA to CADDOdeaths or injuries recorded
2007-08-01Heat$0 property; $0 crops (zone total, 2007 dollars)0, 0NWS zone ALZ004 (LAWRENCE), zone-levelB1-c worst recorded: Excessive Heat, Heat
2007-07-01Droughtdamage not reported0, 0NWS zone ALZ004 (LAWRENCE), zone-levelB1-c worst recorded: Drought
2005-08-29Tropical Stormdamage not reported0, 0NWS zone ALZ004 (LAWRENCE), zone-levelB1-c worst recorded: Hurricane, Tropical Storm, Tropical Depression
1997-05-26Hail3.5 in$10,000 property; $6,000 crops (1997 dollars)0, 0MT HOPEB1-c worst recorded: Hail
1996-03-07Cold/Wind Chillproperty not reported; $1,000,000 crops (zone total, 1996 dollars)0, 0NWS zone ALZ004 (LAWRENCE), zone-levelB1-c worst recorded: Cold/Wind Chill, Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
1974-04-03TornadoF5, 24.4 mi path length (whole path, pre-1996), 500 yd widedamage not recorded (pre-1996 record)14, 60location not recordeddeaths or injuries recorded

The full list is in the Excel file, sheet "B1-d Storm Events history" (914 rows).

Location is the place NOAA recorded, as written in its data; it need not be a jurisdiction in this plan.

Local data needed: state-declared emergencies, from your state emergency management agency (federal data do not include them).

Tribal and special-area declarations in this state are listed on the state page.

Supports FEMA checklist item B1-e: probability of future events

Probability: FEMA annualized frequency and descriptor per hazard

Sources: 5, 6

HazardFEMA annualized frequency (modeled)unit per rowUnitIn plain termsDescriptorDescriptor basisNRI events or days in its record period (hail, wind and tornado are area-weighted, so can be fractional)NRI periodLocationNote
Cold Wave1.26event-days per yearabout 1.26 days per yearLikelyStorm Events event-days in 9 of 30 years, 1996 to 2025 (30%)242005-11-12 to 2024-11-12 (19 years)countywide
Drought21.5event-days per yearabout 21.5 days per yearLikelyStorm Events event-days in 7 of 30 years, 1996 to 2025 (23.3%)6862000 to 2025 (25.25 years; D3 and D4 only)countywide
Earthquake0.00342annual probability at a locationchance a given location in the county has at least minor-damage shaking in a year: 0.342%not shownmodeledsee B1-fNo descriptor (Storm Events does not record earthquakes).
Hail4.49events per yearabout 4.49 per yearHighly likelyFEMA annualized frequency (modeled)170.5 (modeled)1986 to 2023 (38 years)countywide
Heat Wave8.53event-days per yearabout 8.53 days per yearLikelyStorm Events event-days in 16 of 30 years, 1996 to 2025 (53.3%)1382005-11-12 to 2024-11-12 (19 years)countywide
Hurricane0.0333events per yearabout 1 in 30 yearsPossibleFEMA annualized frequency (modeled)101851 to 2024 (Atlantic)see B1-fNRI counts hurricane and tropical storm tracks passing within storm-force wind range; federal declarations are in B1-d.
Ice Storm0.812event-days per yearabout 0.812 days per yearLikelyStorm Events event-days in 4 of 30 years, 1996 to 2025 (13.3%)551946-12-31 to 2014-02-12 (67 years)countywide
Inland Flooding1.5event-days per yearabout 1.5 days per yearLikelyStorm Events event-days in 23 of 30 years, 1996 to 2025 (76.7%)421996 to 2023 (28 years)see B1-f
Landslide0.421events per year (modeled)about 1 in 2 yearsLikelyFEMA annualized frequency (modeled)not shownmodeledsee B1-f
Lightning62.4days per year with a strikeabout 62.4 days per yearHighly likelyFEMA annualized frequency (modeled)not shown1995 to 2023 (29 years; CONUS)countywide
Strong Wind5.67events per yearabout 5.67 per yearHighly likelyFEMA annualized frequency (modeled)2171986 to 2023 (38 years)countywide
Tornado0.781events per yearabout 0.78 per yearLikelyFEMA annualized frequency (modeled)not shown1950 to 2023 (EF2+); 1986 to 2023 (EF0-1)see B1-f
Wildfire0.000322annual probability at a locationchance a given location in the county burns in a year: 0.0322%PossibleStorm Events records in 1 of 30 years, 1996 to 2025 (3.33%)not shownmodeledsee B1-f
Winter Weather4.37event-days per yearabout 4.37 days per yearLikelyStorm Events event-days in 22 of 30 years, 1996 to 2025 (73.3%)832005-11-12 to 2024-11-12 (19 years)countywide

FEMA annualized frequency (modeled) is the National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025) estimate of how often a hazard affects this county in a year; it is not recorded events divided by years, and its unit differs by hazard (events, event-days, or days with a lightning strike per year). For earthquake, wildfire, coastal flooding and tsunami the value is the chance (or number of events) at a location in the county, not across the county, so no "1 in N years" is given and the descriptor comes from Storm Events where it has a record (none for earthquake). The Methods page gives each hazard's method, from FEMA's National Risk Index Technical Documentation v1.20.

Where NRI gives event-days, the descriptor comes from the share of years with a Storm Events record; NRI's source records more events, so the two differ.

Descriptor scale used in this packet (defined per unit)

Sources: 5, 6

UnitDescriptorDefinition
events per yearHighly likely1 or more per year
events per yearLikelyabout once in 1 to 10 years
events per yearPossibleabout once in 10 to 100 years
events per yearUnlikelyless than once in 100 years
annual probabilityLikely10% to under 100% chance in a given year
annual probabilityPossible1% to under 10% chance in a given year
annual probabilityUnlikelyunder 1% chance in a given year
event-days (share of years)Highly likelyevent-days recorded in 90% or more of years
event-days (share of years)Likelyevent-days recorded in 10% to under 90% of years
event-days (share of years)Possibleevent-days recorded in some years but under 10% of years
lightning strike-daysHighly likelycloud-to-ground strikes on 1 or more days per year

Intensity bands: historical frequency (Storm Events)

Source: 6

HazardBandYearsEventscounty-coded recordsYears in periodEvents per yearevents / years
Hail1.00-1.99 in1996 to 202570302.33
Hail2.00 in+1996 to 20259300.3
Thunderstorm Wind (counted as NRI Strong Wind)50-64 kt1996 to 2025250308.33
Thunderstorm Wind (counted as NRI Strong Wind)65 kt+1996 to 202518300.6
Thunderstorm Wind (counted as NRI Strong Wind)unmeasured or below 50 kt1996 to 202527300.9
TornadoEF0-11996 to 202527300.9
TornadoEF2-31996 to 20253300.1
TornadoEF4-51996 to 20252300.0667
Tornadounrated (EFU)1996 to 20251300.0333

The bands show how often events of each severity were recorded in this county, to profile how severe events have been (FEMA's probability item asks for the range of intensities).

Hail smaller than 1 inch is not counted: on 2010-01-05 the National Weather Service raised its severe-hail threshold from 3/4 inch to 1 inch, so smaller reports became less common after 2009 (NWS Service Change Notice 09-52). NRI hail frequency uses a 0.75 inch threshold.

Optional: future conditions. Not a required item in the 2025 FEMA Local Mitigation Planning Policy Guide; some states ask for it. The federal Climate Mapping for Resilience and Adaptation (CMRA) site gives county exposure to future climate conditions (https://resilience.climate.gov/).

Supports FEMA checklist item B1-f: hazards that vary across jurisdictions

Range of census tract risk within the county

Source: 5

HazardTractsrated of allNRI risk score, 0 to 100Tracts by rating
MinMedianMax
Cold Wave11 of 1177.686.596.5Very High 2, Relatively High 8, Relatively Moderate 1
Drought11 of 1183.991.797.0Relatively Moderate 5, Relatively Low 6
Earthquake11 of 1159.877.287.6Relatively Moderate 5, Relatively Low 6
Hail11 of 1142.650.664.4Relatively Low 11
Heat Wave11 of 1167.982.193.9Relatively High 5, Relatively Moderate 6
Hurricane11 of 1154.157.764.8Relatively Low 11
Ice Storm11 of 1133.452.875.3Relatively Moderate 3, Relatively Low 7, Very Low 1
Inland Flooding11 of 1134.369.490.0Relatively High 3, Relatively Moderate 4, Relatively Low 4
Landslide11 of 1122.147.366.6Very Low 11
Lightning11 of 1185.194.899.3Very High 5, Relatively High 6
Strong Wind11 of 1169.982.995.1Relatively High 6, Relatively Moderate 5
Tornado11 of 1182.495.599.7Very High 6, Relatively High 5
Wildfire11 of 1147.570.376.4Relatively Low 6, Very Low 5
Winter Weather11 of 1129.737.956.2Relatively Moderate 3, Relatively Low 8

Drought: Agriculture is all of NRI's expected annual loss for this hazard in the county, so the tract range mostly reflects where crop and livestock value is.

Rated tracts only: No Rating (score 0.0), Not Applicable and Insufficient Data tracts are counted but not used for the minimum, median and maximum.

The score ranks a tract against all U.S. tracts (100 = highest). The rating is FEMA's category for the tract's risk value, computed differently, so the two can disagree.

Frequency data for cold wave, drought, hail, heat wave, ice storm, lightning, strong wind and winter weather are county-wide or coarse (49 km grid or NWS zone), the same for every jurisdiction; the tract range mostly reflects where buildings and people are (crop and livestock value where a line above names agriculture).

Each jurisdiction (starting figures from federal data)

Sources: 1, 3, 4, 6

JurisdictionTypePlan statusRepetitive lossFMA RL and SRL (44 CFR 77.2); repeat-flood, any definitionPublic Assistance to this jurisdictionFEMA records matched by applicant name; federal share obligated, nominal dollarsEvent records naming this placeall years; since its plan
Lawrence County (unincorporated area)UnincorporatedPlan 111862 approved 2026-09-03, pending adoption here; not yet eligibleFMA RL 0, SRL 0; any 3$578,028.130 total; no approved plan
Courtland townTownPlan 111862 approved 2026-09-03, pending adoption here; not yet eligibleFMA RL 0, SRL 1; any 2$119,575.3339 total; no approved plan
Hillsboro townTownPlan 111862 approved 2026-09-03, pending adoption here; not yet eligibleFMA RL 0, SRL 0; any 0$3,767.9315 total; no approved plan
Moulton cityCityApproved, expires 2031-09-02FMA RL 0, SRL 0; any 3$295,223.28150 total; not yet covered
North Courtland townTownPlan 111862 approved 2026-09-03, pending adoption here; not yet eligibleFMA RL 0, SRL 0; any 0no Public Assistance recorded0 total; no approved plan
Town Creek townTownApproved, expires 2031-09-02FMA RL 0, SRL 0; any 0$1,416.5243 total; not yet covered

Repetitive-loss counts are for whole NFIP communities, which can extend beyond this county (see the note in B2-c).

County Public Assistance in B1-d also includes applicants filed under the county that are not jurisdictions in this plan (for example 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

Local data needed

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

Plan 111862 was approved by FEMA on 2026-09-03 but is not yet adopted here, so no since-plan counts are given.

  • 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

County-level starter: exposure, expected annual loss and damage since the plan

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7

HazardBuilding exposuremodeled dollarsAgriculture exposuremodeled dollarsPopulation exposedpeopleEAL buildingsmodeled dollars per yearEAL agriculturemodeled dollars per yearCost of expected deaths and injuriesFEMA's dollar value per year, not property damageEAL as % of exposurebuildings; agriculture where notedStorm Events damage since plancounty-coded records, property plus crops, nominal dollarsZone-level damage since planproperty plus crops, reported for the zonePublic Assistance since plannominal dollars; see noteNote
Cold Wave$5,939,445,070$274,107,15633,012$3,435$269,482$2,376,512under 0.0001%
Droughtn/a$63,925,672n/an/a$444,871n/a0.696% (agriculture)NRI has no building exposure for this hazard; agriculture shown
Earthquake$10,109,405,774n/a33,073$1,048,536n/a$649,0010.0104%
Hail$5,939,445,070$274,107,15633,012$42,216$27,836$1,4810.000711%
Heat Wave$5,939,445,070$274,107,15633,012$41$13,781$1,173,156under 0.0001%
Hurricane$5,939,445,070$273,322,71633,012$81,956$120,816$4,5620.00138%
Ice Storm$5,939,445,070n/a33,012$43,529n/a$12,6890.000733%
Inland Flooding$5,937,244,248$26,233,885912$7,378,546$6,042$69,829n/a (see note)NRI counts the full building value of any census block with some flood loss; this is not the value of buildings in the floodplain. Use local FIRM overlays for B2-a/B2-b.
Landslide$51,452,456n/a348$14n/a$42under 0.0001%
Lightning$5,939,445,070n/a33,012$14,065n/a$636,0710.000237%
Strong Wind$5,939,445,070$274,107,15633,012$303,970$9,413$390,7380.00512%
Tornado$5,939,445,070$274,107,15633,012$799,646$25,837$4,570,3140.0135%
Wildfire$768,844,099$50,324,1127,402$9,086$125$3,5720.00118%
Winter Weather$5,939,445,070$274,107,15633,012$2,040$203$13,092under 0.0001%

Totals since the plan: not available. Plan 111862 was approved by FEMA on 2026-09-03 but is not yet adopted here, so no since-plan counts are given.

FEMA does not split Public Assistance by hazard. A declaration mapped to several hazards is listed under each of them with its full amount, so the per-hazard column does not add up to the total; the unit total counts each declaration once.

NRI computes earthquake exposure on its own basis, so it exceeds the county building value in B2-a.

Supports FEMA checklist item B2-a: vulnerability (county context)

County context

Source: 5

MeasureValue
Population33,012
Building value (total, not at risk)$5,939,445,070
Agriculture value (total, not at risk)$274,107,156
NRI risk rating (all hazards)Relatively Low
Expected annual loss, buildings and agriculture, all hazards$10,645,489
Expected annual loss, population equivalence, all hazards (NRI values each statistical life at $13.7M; a modeled value of expected deaths and injuries, not property damage)$9,901,059
Social vulnerability ratingRelatively High
Community resilience ratingRelatively Low
NRI versionDecember 2025

FEMA's all-hazard expected annual loss adds buildings, agriculture and population equivalence; this table gives the property part and the population-equivalence part as separate rows.

Social vulnerability: higher means people are more likely to be harmed and slower to recover. Community resilience: lower means the community is less able to recover. High social vulnerability and low resilience both raise the NRI risk rating.

Supports FEMA checklist item B2-c: repetitive loss properties

Repetitive loss in this county, both definitions

Sources: 1, 4

DefinitionPropertiesSevere repetitive lossProperties
Repetitive loss, FMA definition (44 CFR 77.2)0Severe repetitive loss, FMA definition (44 CFR 77.2)1
Repetitive loss, NFIP insurance definition8Severe repetitive loss, NFIP insurance definition1

The state NFIP coordinator's list, the source FEMA's Handbook names, often uses the NFIP insurance definition (second row).

Repeat-flood properties: county and state-level rows

Sources: 1, 4

ScopeRL, FMApropertiesSRL, FMApropertiesRL, NFIPpropertiesSRL, NFIPpropertiesAny categorypropertiesMitigatedpropertiesCurrently insuredproperties
County total0181802
of which: Courtland town0121200
of which: Moulton city0030301
of which: Lawrence County (unincorporated area)0030301
Statewide, no county in FEMA's file0030300

The statewide row counts properties FEMA's file gives with no county in this state; they are listed for reference and are not in this county's counts.

Repeat-flood properties by jurisdiction in the plan (NFIP community)

Sources: 1, 4

JurisdictionNFIP community IDRL, FMApropertiesSRL, FMApropertiesRL, NFIPpropertiesSRL, NFIPpropertiesAny categorypropertiesMitigatedpropertiesCurrently insuredproperties
Lawrence County (unincorporated area)0103240030301
Courtland town0101410121200
Hillsboro town0103050000000
Moulton city0101420030301
North Courtland town0104440000000
Town Creek town0101430000000

Counts by occupancy group for each jurisdiction are in the Excel file, sheet "B2-c Jurisdictions".

Jurisdiction rows are whole NFIP communities and need not add up to the county total: a community that extends into another county is counted in full on each jurisdiction row, while the county table counts only its part in this county.

County repeat-flood properties by occupancy group

Sources: 1, 4

Occupancy groupRL, FMApropertiesSRL, FMApropertiesRL, NFIPpropertiesSRL, NFIPpropertiesAny categorypropertiesMitigatedpropertiesCurrently insuredproperties
single-family residential0151502
2 to 4 unit residential0000000
other residential0000000
non-residential0030300
not reported0000000

FEMA's occupancy groups have no institutional class; institutional properties are counted in non-residential or other residential in the table by occupancy group.

FMA RL and FMA SRL are the Flood Mitigation Assistance definitions (44 CFR 77.2), the ones the FEMA Local Mitigation Planning Policy Guide cites. NFIP repetitive loss (the FEMA insurance definition) is 2 or more claims over $1,000 in 10 years, and a property can leave that group once it is mitigated. Also shown: NFIP severe repetitive loss, any category, mitigated and currently insured. The Methods page gives the OpenFEMA field details.

Counts are aggregates of FEMA's public NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (FEMA's data date 2026-08-02; file version 2026-08-04). No property is identified. County assignment is FEMA's geocode.

In this county 0 properties are FMA repetitive loss but not NFIP repetitive loss, and 8 properties are NFIP repetitive loss but not FMA repetitive loss.

Exact counts; no count suppression.

Sources

Tables cite these sources by number. The full list, for the plan's bibliography (FEMA review item A4-a):

  1. FEMA, OpenFEMA HazardMitigationPlanStatuses v1, version 2026-09-29T134039Z, pulled 2026-09-30, https://www.fema.gov/api/open/v1/HazardMitigationPlanStatuses (API)
  2. FEMA, OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, version 2026-09-29T162832Z, pulled 2026-09-30, https://www.fema.gov/api/open/v2/DisasterDeclarationsSummaries (API)
  3. FEMA, OpenFEMA PublicAssistanceFundedProjectsSummaries v1, version 2026-09-29T150754Z, pulled 2026-09-30, https://www.fema.gov/api/open/v1/PublicAssistanceFundedProjectsSummaries (API)
  4. FEMA, OpenFEMA NfipMultipleLossProperties v1, version 2026-08-04T164045Z, pulled 2026-09-30, https://www.fema.gov/api/open/v1/NfipMultipleLossProperties (API)
  5. FEMA, FEMA National Risk Index 1.20.0 (December 2025), county and census tract tables, version 1.20.0, pulled 2026-09-30, https://www.fema.gov/about/reports-and-data/openfema/nri/v120/NRI_Table_Counties.zip (download, 25 MB), https://www.fema.gov/about/reports-and-data/openfema/nri/v120/NRI_Table_CensusTracts.zip (download, 635 MB)
  6. NOAA NCEI, NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, details files (csvfiles v1.0), version c20260918, pulled 2026-09-30, https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/swdi/stormevents/csvfiles/
  7. NOAA National Weather Service, NWS county-public forecast zones correlation file, version bp03mr20 to bp16ap26 (11 files; newest bp16ap26), pulled 2026-09-30, https://www.weather.gov/gis/ZoneCounty
  8. U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2024 Gazetteer, 2020 place by county, CT county-to-cousub crosswalk, version 2024-gazetteer, pulled 2026-09-30, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2024_Gazetteer/2024_Gaz_counties_national.zip, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2024_Gazetteer/2024_Gaz_cousubs_national.zip, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2024_Gazetteer/2024_Gaz_place_national.zip, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2024_Gazetteer/2024_Gaz_unsd_national.zip, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2024_Gazetteer/2024_Gaz_elsd_national.zip, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2024_Gazetteer/2024_Gaz_scsd_national.zip, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/reference/codes2020/national_place_by_county2020.txt, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/reference/ct_change/ct_cou_to_cousub_crosswalk.xlsx (used to match place names and codes; no table prints its values)

What this packet is and what the plan adds

This packet is the federal data for the plan's risk assessment (the summary on page 1 says how it is organized); the plan and FEMA's review decide whether each item is met.

The plan adds what only the community has: local data on assets, critical facilities, development and each jurisdiction's impacts; local hazard history, including state-declared emergencies; the mitigation strategy; and adoption.

How the federal data are built: National Risk Index values are FEMA's model, not counts of events. Storm Events is more complete from 1996; zone-level records are placed by forecast zone, not by location in the county. Public Assistance for a jurisdiction is matched by applicant name. The Methods page gives every rule and the known edge cases.

OpenFEMA disclaimer

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).

Reuse, citation and corrections

Reuse and citation: Hazard Plain text and tables are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/); credit Hazard Plain and the release. The underlying federal data are public domain; OpenFEMA data are also subject to the OpenFEMA terms and conditions.

Cite this: Hazard Plain (2026). Lawrence County, AL: risk-assessment baseline packet, release 2026-10 (data as of 2026-09-30; County FIPS 01079). Automated baseline. https://hazardplain.org/al/01079/ Built from FEMA OpenFEMA, the FEMA National Risk Index and NOAA NCEI Storm Events; source versions in the packet's Sources list.

Corrections: to report an error, name the packet, the table and what your records show. Contact: contact@hazardplain.org