Natural hazards · Burnsville

Burnsville, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Burnsville comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 5 claims here since 1983. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Burnsville?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Burnsville to be higher than in 33% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding52%Cold waves21%Lightning8%Tornadoes6%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Burnsville faces

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

Inland flooding

52% 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 60% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lightning

8% of expected damage

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

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 55% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHeat wavesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Burnsville flood?

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

5paid claims since 1983

$77Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19832026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Helene: 1 claim, $7K
Tropical Storm Ivan: 1 claim, $2K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Yancey County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

90flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Burnsville

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BurnsvilleDeclared for Yancey County only

2024

Tropical Storm Helene

5,597 households applied for aid $33.9M aid approved $4.7M to the Town of Burnsville for repairs

2021

Remnants of Tropical Storm Fred

$209K to the Town of Burnsville for repairs

2013

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

$11K to the Town of Burnsville for repairs

2009

Severe Winter Storms and Flooding

$9K to the Town of Burnsville for repairs

2004

Hurricane Ivan

289 households applied for aid $531K aid approved $42K to the Town of Burnsville for repairs

2004

Tropical Storm Frances

121 households applied for aid $229K aid approved

Yancey County has had 19 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. Burnsville 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 Burnsville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Burnsville. 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.