Natural hazards · Barnardsville

Barnardsville, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Barnardsville comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Barnardsville?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Barnardsville to be higher than in 83% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding66%Cold waves14%Landslides9%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Barnardsville faces

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

Inland flooding

66% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

14% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 56% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Landslides

9% of expected damage

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

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHeat wavesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Barnardsville flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Buncombe County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

13flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

2homes raised above flood level

Disasters that hit Barnardsville

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BarnardsvilleDeclared for Buncombe County only

2024

Tropical Storm Helene

814 households applied for aid $4.5M aid approved

2021

Remnants of Tropical Storm Fred

30 households applied for aid $84K aid approved

2004

Hurricane Ivan

48 households applied for aid $105K aid approved

2004

Tropical Storm Frances

7 households applied for aid $12K aid approved

Buncombe 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. Barnardsville 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 Barnardsville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Barnardsville. 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.