Natural hazards · Bath

Bath, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bath comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 29 claims here since 1993. 8 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bath?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bath to be higher than in 98% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes.

Hurricanes75%Inland flooding10%Coastal flooding8%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Bath faces

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

Hurricanes

75% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Inland flooding

10% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Coastal flooding

8% of expected damage

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

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce 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 Bath flood?

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

29paid claims since 1993

$432Kpaid to owners

5homes flooded more than once

19932026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Irene: 10 claims, $239K
Hurricane Floyd: 5 claims, $21K
Hurricane Bonnie: 4 claims, $12K

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

Insurance rates: Beaufort County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2homes raised above flood level

Disasters that hit Bath

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BathDeclared for Beaufort County only

2019

Hurricane Dorian

$18K to the Town of Bath for repairs

2018

Hurricane Florence

41 households applied for aid $29K aid approved $8K to the Town of Bath for repairs

2016

Hurricane Matthew

12 households applied for aid $5K aid approved

2011

Hurricane Irene

195 households applied for aid $252K aid approved $25K to the Town of Bath for repairs

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Straight-Line Winds

8 households applied for aid $11K aid approved

2008

Tropical Storm Hanna

$2K to the Town of Bath for repairs

2003

Hurricane Isabel

83 households applied for aid $114K aid approved $7K to the Town of Bath for repairs

1999

Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations

$4K to the Town of Bath for repairs

Beaufort County has had 23 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe 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. Bath 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 Bath’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Bath. 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.