Natural hazards · Ayden

Ayden, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ayden comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 15 claims here since 1996. 9 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ayden?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ayden to be higher than in 57% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes41%Inland flooding29%Tornadoes15%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Ayden faces

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

Hurricanes

41% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

29% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 25% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingLandslidesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Ayden flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Ayden, from FEMA’s records.

15paid claims since 1996

$220Kpaid to owners

4homes flooded more than once

19962026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Ernesto: 3 claims, $36K
Hurricane Matthew: 3 claims, $93K
Hurricane Irene: 3 claims, $34K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Pitt County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

9flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Ayden

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into AydenDeclared for Pitt County only

2020

Hurricane Isaias

$69K to the Town of Ayden for repairs

2019

Hurricane Dorian

$28K to the Town of Ayden for repairs

2018

Hurricane Florence

64 households applied for aid $14K aid approved $155K to the Town of Ayden for repairs

2016

Hurricane Matthew

193 households applied for aid $142K aid approved $216K to the Town of Ayden for repairs

2011

Hurricane Irene

316 households applied for aid $255K aid approved $526K to the Town of Ayden for repairs

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

6 households applied for aid

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Straight-Line Winds

14 households applied for aid $33K aid approved

2003

Hurricane Isabel

88 households applied for aid $49K aid approved $51K to the Town of Ayden for repairs

1999

Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations

$424K to the Town of Ayden for repairs

Pitt 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. Ayden 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 Ayden’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Ayden. 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.