Breathitt, KY
Breathitt County in Kentucky has 15 FEMA disaster declarations on record covering 1967–2023, most recently Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides on May 9, 2023 (DR-4711). Its flood risk grade is A (Low risk), ranking #475 of 3,277 U.S. counties, with 24 NFIP flood insurance claims totaling $741,755 in payouts. Flood risk is relatively low compared to the national average.
FEMA Disaster Declarations in Breathitt County
The 15 most recent federally declared disasters affecting Breathitt County, KY (1967–2023). Total declarations on record: 15.
| Declared | Incident Type | Title | FEMA Disaster # |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 9, 2023 | Flood | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | DR-4711 |
| Jul 29, 2022 | Flood | Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | DR-4663 |
| Apr 23, 2021 | Flood | Severe, Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | DR-4595 |
| Apr 12, 2018 | Flood | Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | DR-4358 |
| May 12, 2015 | Flood | Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | DR-4218 |
| May 1, 2015 | Flood | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | DR-4217 |
| Sep 10, 2005 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina | DR-3231 |
| Jan 29, 1991 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | DR-893 |
| Jun 30, 1989 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | DR-834 |
| Feb 24, 1989 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | DR-821 |
| Dec 12, 1978 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | DR-568 |
| Apr 6, 1977 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | DR-529 |
| May 15, 1972 | Flood | Heavy Rains & Flooding | DR-332 |
| Feb 2, 1970 | Flood | Heavy Snowmelt, Rains & Flooding | DR-282 |
| Mar 27, 1967 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | DR-226 |
Score Breakdown
The composite score of 16 is calculated from four weighted factors. See our methodology for details.
Other Counties in Kentucky
| County | Grade | Score | Claims | Disasters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knox | A | 16 | 6 | 12 |
| Henderson | A | 16 | 14 | 2 |
| Knott | A | 15 | 25 | 14 |
| Leslie | A | 15 | 2 | 13 |
| Magoffin | A | 15 | 6 | 14 |
| Owsley | A | 15 | 0 | 13 |
More Counties in Kentucky
Frequently Asked Questions
How many FEMA disaster declarations does Breathitt County, KY have?
Breathitt County, KY has 15 federal disaster declarations on FEMA record (1967–2023). The 5 most recent are: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (declared May 9, 2023, DR-4711); Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (declared Jul 29, 2022, DR-4663); Severe, Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (declared Apr 23, 2021, DR-4595); Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (declared Apr 12, 2018, DR-4358); Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (declared May 12, 2015, DR-4218). Counts include flood, severe storm, hurricane, and coastal storm declarations from the OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries dataset.
What is the flood risk grade for Breathitt County, KY?
Breathitt County is graded A (composite score 16/100, low risk). It ranks #475 of 3,277 U.S. counties for flood risk in our scoring model. The grade combines NFIP claims density (40%), disaster frequency (25%), claim severity (20%), and year-over-year trend (15%).
How many NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Breathitt County?
24 NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Breathitt County, KY, totaling $741,755 in payouts. The average claim is $30,906. Source: FEMA FimaNfipClaims v2 dataset.
Has Breathitt County, KY had any recent flood disasters?
Yes. The most recent FEMA declaration affecting Breathitt County was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides on May 9, 2023 (DR-4711). The county has 15 declared disasters in the OpenFEMA record covering 1967–2023.
The this entity record above pulls directly from FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims. What follows is the per-entity context — how this entity sits in the broader U.S. flood risk, NFIP claims, and disaster declarations distribution and which underlying factors drive the headline numbers.
The methodology behind every numeric value on this page is publicly documented on the FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims portal and described in detail on this site’s methodology page. Refresh cadence varies by underlying series; the page surfaces the as-of date for each number so readers can trace any figure back to the source release.
Practical use of this page is in combination with the comparison and ranking pages elsewhere on the site, which surface the same data for this entity’s peers within U.S. ZIPs, counties, and states. A single-entity reading without peer context can be misleading when an entity is an outlier on one axis but typical on another.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA datasets, 2026.