Natural hazards · Bladenboro

Bladenboro, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bladenboro comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 36 claims here since 1996. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bladenboro?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bladenboro to be higher than in 89% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes48%Inland flooding30%Tornadoes7%Strong wind7%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Bladenboro faces

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

Hurricanes

48% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

30% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 38 years in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Bladenboro flood?

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

36paid claims since 1996

$1.8Mpaid to owners

8homes flooded more than once

19962026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Florence: 14 claims, $947K
Hurricane Matthew: 7 claims, $450K
Hurricane Debby: 4 claims, $251K

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

Insurance rates: Bladen County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Bladenboro

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BladenboroDeclared for Bladen County only

2018

Hurricane Florence

676 households applied for aid $498K aid approved $61K to the Town of Bladenboro for repairs

2016

Hurricane Matthew

651 households applied for aid $600K aid approved $149K to the Town of Bladenboro for repairs

2011

Hurricane Irene

14 households applied for aid $5K aid approved

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

133 households applied for aid $149K aid approved

2004

Tropical Storm Frances

219 households applied for aid $235K aid approved

2003

Hurricane Isabel

290 households applied for aid $200K aid approved

1999

Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations

$119K to the Town of Bladenboro for repairs

Bladen County has had 21 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. Bladenboro 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 Bladenboro’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Bladenboro. 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.