Natural hazards · Bryson

Bryson, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bryson comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 21 claims here since 1994. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bryson?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bryson to be higher than in 61% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding57%Cold waves17%Landslides7%Tornadoes6%Earthquakes5%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Bryson faces

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

Inland flooding

57% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

17% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Landslides

7% of expected damage

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

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 35 years in the area

Earthquakes

5% of expected damage

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

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireStrong 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 Bryson flood?

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

21paid claims since 1994

$879Kpaid to owners

3homes flooded more than once

19942026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Helene: 3 claims, $299K
Tropical Storm Ivan: 1 claim, $115K

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

Insurance rates: Swain County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Bryson

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BrysonDeclared for Swain County only

2024

Tropical Storm Helene

430 households applied for aid $1.6M aid approved $141K to the Town of Bryson for repairs

2020

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$88K to the Town of Bryson for repairs

2004

Hurricane Ivan

28 households applied for aid $89K aid approved $5K to the Town of Bryson for repairs

Swain County has had 14 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. Bryson 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 Bryson’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Bryson. 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.