Natural hazards · Bear Grass

Bear Grass, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bear Grass comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bear Grass?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bear Grass to be higher than in 84% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes51%Inland flooding30%Tornadoes7%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Bear Grass faces

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

Hurricanes

51% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Inland flooding

30% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 15 years in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHailIce 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 Bear Grass flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Martin County.

Disasters that hit Bear Grass

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Bear GrassDeclared for Martin County only

2011

Hurricane Irene

1 household applied for aid

Martin 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. Bear Grass 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 Bear Grass’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Bear Grass. 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.