Natural hazards · Bethel

Bethel, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bethel comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 2006. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bethel?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bethel to be higher than in 60% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes36%Inland flooding34%Tornadoes11%Drought6%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Bethel faces

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

Hurricanes

36% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

34% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 44% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 13 years in the area

Drought

6% of expected damage

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Bethel flood?

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

3paid claims since 2006

$12Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

20062026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Ernesto: 1 claim, $5K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Pitt County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Bethel

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BethelDeclared for Pitt County only

2018

Hurricane Florence

17 households applied for aid $8K aid approved $11K to the Town of Bethel for repairs

2016

Hurricane Matthew

85 households applied for aid $59K aid approved $81K to the Town of Bethel for repairs

2011

Hurricane Irene

99 households applied for aid $70K aid approved $69K to the Town of Bethel for repairs

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Straight-Line Winds

3 households applied for aid $589 aid approved

2003

Hurricane Isabel

28 households applied for aid $18K aid approved $8K to the Town of Bethel for repairs

1999

Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations

$69K to the Town of Bethel for repairs

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