Natural hazards · Bailey

Bailey, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bailey comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low 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 Bailey?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bailey to be higher than in 32% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.

Inland flooding28%Hurricanes22%Tornadoes17%Drought9%Heat waves7%Cold waves5%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Bailey faces

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

Inland flooding

28% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 27% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Hurricanes

22% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 53 years in the area

Drought

9% of expected damage

Recorded about 12 times a year in the area

Heat waves

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 54% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Cold waves

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Bailey flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Nash County.

Disasters that hit Bailey

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BaileyDeclared for Nash County only

2024

Tropical Storm Helene

8 households applied for aid $1K aid approved

2016

Hurricane Matthew

33 households applied for aid $11K aid approved $24K to the Town of Bailey for repairs

2011

Hurricane Irene

16 households applied for aid $25K aid approved $3K to the Town of Bailey for repairs

2003

Hurricane Isabel

18 households applied for aid $34K aid approved $5K to the Town of Bailey for repairs

1999

Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations

$50K to the Town of Bailey for repairs

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