Natural hazards · Bakersville

Bakersville, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bakersville comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 19 claims here since 1991. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bakersville?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bakersville to be higher than in 76% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding64%Cold waves14%Lightning10%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Bakersville faces

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

Inland flooding

64% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

14% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lightning

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong wind

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHeat wavesDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Bakersville flood?

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

19paid claims since 1991

$1.4Mpaid to owners

2homes flooded more than once

19912026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Helene: 7 claims, $1.1M

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. Bakersville isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Mitchell County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

18flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Bakersville

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BakersvilleDeclared for Mitchell County only

2024

Tropical Storm Helene

2,112 households applied for aid $8.9M aid approved $354K to the Town of Bakersville for repairs

2013

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

$15K to the Town of Bakersville for repairs

2004

Hurricane Ivan

156 households applied for aid $165K aid approved

2004

Tropical Storm Frances

34 households applied for aid $62K aid approved

Mitchell County has had 18 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. Bakersville 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 Bakersville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Bakersville. 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.