Natural hazards · Black Mountain

Black Mountain, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Black Mountain comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 59 claims here since 1979. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Black Mountain?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Black Mountain to be higher than in 30% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding61%Cold waves21%Tornadoes6%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Black Mountain faces

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

Inland flooding

61% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 54% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

21% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 54% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Black Mountain flood?

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

59paid claims since 1979

$4.7Mpaid to owners

7homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Helene: 36 claims, $4.5M
Tropical Storm Ivan: 6 claims, $12K

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. Black Mountain 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

37flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

9homes raised above flood level

Disasters that hit Black Mountain

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Black MountainDeclared for Buncombe County only

2024

Tropical Storm Helene

4,828 households applied for aid $24.8M aid approved $4.8M to the Town of Black Mountain for repairs

2021

Remnants of Tropical Storm Fred

23 households applied for aid $18K aid approved $306K to the Town of Black Mountain for repairs

2013

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

$41K to the Town of Black Mountain for repairs

2009

Severe Winter Storms and Flooding

$14K to the Town of Black Mountain for repairs

2004

Hurricane Ivan

159 households applied for aid $254K aid approved $188K to the Town of Black Mountain for repairs

2004

Tropical Storm Frances

159 households applied for aid $284K aid approved $83K to the Town of Black Mountain for repairs

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