North Carolina Natural Disaster Risk by County

FEMA National Risk Index rankings for all 100 counties

Counties
100
All ranked by NRI score
State Avg. Score
66.7
High risk
Total State EAL
$4.43B
Expected annual losses
Highest Risk
Mecklenburg
Score 97.1 · High

North Carolina spans 100 counties with an average FEMA National Risk Index score of 66.7 (high risk) and roughly $4.43B in combined expected annual loss statewide. 5 counties are rated High or Very High risk.

Leading the state for risk is Mecklenburg County (score 97.1, high), while Camden County (score 2.5) carries the lowest. Use the table below to compare every county by score, top hazard, and expected annual loss.

County Rankings

#CountyRisk ScoreRisk RatingTop HazardAnn. Loss
1Mecklenburg County
97.1
High Riverine Flood$318M
2New Hanover County
96.1
High Hurricane$257M
3Brunswick County
95.8
High Hurricane$153M
4Wake County
95.5
High Hail$299M
5Onslow County
95.0
High Hurricane$216M
6Craven County
93.6
Medium Hurricane$118M
7Carteret County
93.5
Medium Hurricane$129M
8Guilford County
93.4
Medium Ice Storm$135M
9Forsyth County
91.5
Medium Ice Storm$104M
10Robeson County
91.1
Medium Strong Wind$57M
11Wayne County
90.4
Medium Winter Weather$66M
12Sampson County
90.2
Medium Strong Wind$55M
13Pitt County
89.8
Medium Winter Weather$81M
14Dare County
89.6
Medium Hurricane$81M
15Durham County
89.6
Medium Heat Wave$91M
16Cumberland County
89.5
Medium Winter Weather$90M
17Duplin County
89.4
Medium Hurricane$53M
18Buncombe County
89.3
Medium Landslide$82M
19Union County
89.1
Medium Ice Storm$110M
20Beaufort County
88.2
Medium Hurricane$54M
21Davidson County
87.2
Medium Ice Storm$64M
22Cabarrus County
87.1
Medium Ice Storm$86M
23Columbus County
86.9
Medium Strong Wind$42M
24Pender County
86.9
Medium Hurricane$67M
25Johnston County
85.6
Medium Winter Weather$62M
26Gaston County
84.9
Medium Ice Storm$59M
27Bladen County
84.6
Medium Strong Wind$39M
28Lenoir County
84.6
Medium Winter Weather$36M
29Henderson County
83.8
Medium Ice Storm$41M
30Rowan County
82.9
Medium Ice Storm$48M
31Wilkes County
82.6
Medium Ice Storm$33M
32Iredell County
80.8
Low Ice Storm$53M
33Catawba County
80.6
Low Ice Storm$45M
34Nash County
80.6
Low Winter Weather$37M
35Randolph County
80.6
Low Ice Storm$39M
36Jackson County
80.5
Low Landslide$29M
37Orange County
79.1
Low Winter Weather$50M
38Haywood County
77.2
Low Landslide$32M
39Alamance County
77.1
Low Winter Weather$41M
40Edgecombe County
76.4
Low Strong Wind$24M
41Wilson County
76.3
Low Winter Weather$30M
42Moore County
75.6
Low Hurricane$35M
43Harnett County
75.3
Low Hurricane$37M
44Lincoln County
73.8
Low Ice Storm$32M
45Macon County
73.8
Low Landslide$24M
46Surry County
73.6
Low Cold Wave$27M
47Halifax County
72.9
Low Winter Weather$20M
48Rutherford County
72.7
Low Strong Wind$24M
49Pamlico County
72.4
Low Hurricane$23M
50Rockingham County
71.9
Low Riverine Flood$25M
51Watauga County
71.9
Low Landslide$26M
52Burke County
70.2
Low Ice Storm$23M
53Cleveland County
70.0
Low Ice Storm$27M
54Hertford County
68.2
Low Hurricane$17M
55Lee County
67.5
Low Hurricane$20M
56Caldwell County
67.4
Low Landslide$25M
57Chatham County
67.2
Low Hurricane$25M
58Ashe County
66.8
Low Landslide$18M
59Bertie County
66.4
Low Hurricane$17M
60Hyde County
66.4
Low Hurricane$16M
61Martin County
65.5
Low Hurricane$21M
62Jones County
64.5
Low Hurricane$14M
63Transylvania County
64.2
Low Landslide$18M
64Scotland County
63.6
Low Hurricane$14M
65Greene County
62.6
Low Hurricane$14M
66Richmond County
60.8
Low Hurricane$16M
67Washington County
59.6
Low Hurricane$14M
68Granville County
59.4
Low Hurricane$20M
69McDowell County
59.2
Low Landslide$17M
70Stanly County
58.8
Low Ice Storm$22M
71Pasquotank County
58.7
Low Hurricane$18M
72Cherokee County
56.7
Low Landslide$15M
73Franklin County
51.7
Low Winter Weather$17M
74Warren County
50.8
Low Hurricane$10M
75Hoke County
50.1
Low Hurricane$13M
76Anson County
50.0
Low Hurricane$10M
77Swain County
49.1
Low Landslide$10M
78Montgomery County
49.0
Low Hurricane$12M
79Vance County
48.4
Low Winter Weather$11M
80Avery County
47.5
Low Landslide$11M
81Tyrrell County
46.0
Low Hurricane$9M
82Alexander County
45.8
Low Ice Storm$11M
83Northampton County
44.2
Low Drought$8M
84Yancey County
42.2
Very Low Landslide$9M
85Davie County
41.7
Very Low Ice Storm$13M
86Person County
41.5
Very Low Drought$10M
87Stokes County
39.7
Very Low Ice Storm$11M
88Yadkin County
38.4
Very Low Ice Storm$10M
89Perquimans County
37.7
Very Low Hurricane$9M
90Polk County
36.9
Very Low Landslide$8M
91Alleghany County
34.7
Very Low Landslide$7M
92Chowan County
34.3
Very Low Hurricane$9M
93Madison County
27.4
Very Low Landslide$9M
94Clay County
26.9
Very Low Landslide$5M
95Mitchell County
24.0
Very Low Landslide$7M
96Caswell County
22.4
Very Low Hurricane$6M
97Graham County
20.1
Very Low Landslide$6M
98Currituck County
18.1
Very Low Hurricane$11M
99Gates County
10.5
Very Low Hurricane$5M
100Camden County
2.5
Very Low Hurricane$3M

All 100 North Carolina counties, ranked by FEMA National Risk Index score.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which North Carolina county has the highest natural disaster risk?

Mecklenburg County has the highest FEMA National Risk Index score in North Carolina at 97.1 (High), driven largely by riverine flood.

What is the average natural disaster risk in North Carolina?

North Carolina counties average a National Risk Index score of 66.7 across 100 counties, with 5 rated High or Very High risk.

How much are expected annual losses across North Carolina?

FEMA estimates roughly $4.43B in combined expected annual loss from natural hazards across all North Carolina counties.

North Carolina Risk by Hazard

Coastal Flood Cold Wave Drought Earthquake Hail Heat Wave Hurricane Ice Storm Riverine Flood Landslide Lightning Strong Wind Tornado Wildfire Winter Weather