Natural hazards · Arapahoe

Arapahoe, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Arapahoe comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Arapahoe?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Arapahoe to be higher than in 99% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes.

Hurricanes89%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Arapahoe faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Hurricanes

89% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Lower here

Inland floodingCoastal floodingTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

DroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Arapahoe flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Arapahoe.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Arapahoe isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Pamlico County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

8homes raised above flood level

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Arapahoe

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Arapahoe itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the Town of Arapahoe.

Brought FEMA money into ArapahoeDeclared for Pamlico County only

2018

Hurricane Florence

174 households applied for aid $316K aid approved

2011

Hurricane Irene

133 households applied for aid $136K aid approved

2003

Hurricane Isabel

65 households applied for aid $61K aid approved

Pamlico County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and winter storms.

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Arapahoe is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Arapahoe’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Arapahoe. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.