Natural hazards · Atkinson

Atkinson, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Atkinson comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Atkinson?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Atkinson to be higher than in 94% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes67%Inland flooding19%Tornadoes5%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Atkinson faces

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

Hurricanes

67% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Inland flooding

19% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Atkinson flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Pender County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

5flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

2homes raised above flood level

Disasters that hit Atkinson

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into AtkinsonDeclared for Pender County only

2018

Hurricane Florence

254 households applied for aid $636K aid approved $61K to the Town of Atkinson for repairs

2016

Hurricane Matthew

103 households applied for aid $521K aid approved $4K to the Town of Atkinson for repairs

2011

Hurricane Irene

14 households applied for aid $10K aid approved $2K to the Town of Atkinson for repairs

2003

Hurricane Isabel

28 households applied for aid $15K aid approved

1999

Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations

$68K to the Town of Atkinson for repairs

Pender County has had 22 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. Atkinson 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 Atkinson’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Atkinson. 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.