Kentucky landslides and avalanches

Every recorded landslide or avalanche record since 1996 · 23 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 60 landslide and avalanche records in Kentucky from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 5.5 a year since 2000. The costliest was the June 17, 2025 debris flow ($12,000 in 2025 dollars). Kentucky ranks 12th of 37 states and territories by count and 8th of 37 per square mile.

Landslides and avalanches in Kentucky, 1996 to 2026

Landslide records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

recorded, no damage figure
under $1 million
$1 million or more
$10 million or more
$100 million or more, or 10 deaths
$1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
a year with a death

Records: 601996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000: 5.5average
Deaths: 00 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $84Kas filed
Busiest year: 202116 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are landslide and avalanche records common in Kentucky?

Kentucky averages about 5.5 landslide and avalanche records a year since 2000, 12th of 37 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2021 (16). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Kentucky records 15 landslide and avalanche records since 1996, 8th of 37 states and territories by that measure.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Kentucky have the most landslide and avalanche records?

Per square mile, Perry County leads Kentucky: 4 days with a landslide or avalanche record since 1996, 11.8 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Pike County has the most landslide records (11 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

Perry County 11.8 (6)
Pike County 10.2 (11)
Floyd County 10.2 (4)
Leslie County 10.0 (5)
Estill County 7.9 (3)
Clay County 6.4 (4)
Rockcastle County 6.3 (2)
Breathitt County 6.1 (3)
Letcher County 5.9 (2)
Knott County 5.7 (2)
Powell County 5.6 (1)
Bell County 5.6 (3)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is the slide season in Kentucky?

Kentucky's landslide and avalanche records by month. The busiest month is March (12 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 6 · Feb 9 · Mar 12 · Apr 7 · May 6 · Jun 3 · Jul 1 · Aug 6 · Sep 7 · Oct 1 · Nov 0 · Dec 2 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

The costliest landslide and avalanche records in Kentucky

Kentucky: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2025-06-17	Debris FlowConway, Rockcastle County		0	0	$12K
2025-02-15	Debris FlowLewistown, Caldwell County		0	0	$10K

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are landslide and avalanche records becoming more frequent in Kentucky?

Kentucky's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Landslides and avalanches: Kentucky and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
Decade	Kentucky	United States	Kentucky's share
1996-99	0	98	0
2000s	13	790	1.6%
2010s	15	1,304	1.2%
2020-26	32	1,224	2.6%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent landslide and avalanche records in Kentucky

The 6 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
Date	Record	Damage
2025-06-17	Debris FlowConway, Rockcastle County	$12K
2025-04-05	Debris FlowGravel Switch, Marion County	–
2025-04-04	Debris FlowWhite Hall, Madison County	–
2025-02-15	Debris FlowLewistown, Caldwell County	$10K
2025-01-31	Debris FlowHindman, Knott County	–
2025-01-31	Debris FlowAsher, Leslie County	–

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

Federal disaster declarations for landslide and avalanche records in Kentucky

FEMA has declared 29 disasters in Kentucky for landslide and avalanche, counting its incident type and declarations that name landslide or mudslide in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 28 were major disasters, the latest on September 1, 2026.

The 12 most recent
Declared	Number	Title	Areas named
2026-09-01	DR-4937	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	20
2025-04-24	DR-4864	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	91
2025-02-24	DR-4860	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	69
2025-02-16	EM-3624	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, and Landslides	120
2024-07-23	DR-4804	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Landslides, and Mudslides	58
2024-05-22	DR-4782	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Landslides, and Mudslides	11
2023-05-09	DR-4711	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	22
2023-04-10	DR-4702	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	88
2022-07-29	DR-4663	Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	20
2022-02-27	DR-4643	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides	13
2021-04-23	DR-4595	Severe, Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	50
2021-03-31	DR-4592	Severe Winter Storms, Landslides, and Mudslides	45

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.