Natural hazards · Catawba

Catawba, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Catawba comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Catawba?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Catawba to be higher than in 15% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding51%Tornadoes17%Hurricanes6%Earthquakes6%Ice storms5%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Catawba faces

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

Inland flooding

51% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 20% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 63 years in the area

Hurricanes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 67% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 12 years in the area

Earthquakes

6% of expected damage

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

Ice storms

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Catawba flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Catawba.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Catawba County.

Disasters that hit Catawba

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CatawbaDeclared for Catawba County only

2024

Tropical Storm Helene

178 households applied for aid $174K aid approved

2004

Tropical Storm Frances

4 households applied for aid $3K aid approved

2002

Severe Ice Storm

$1K to the Town of Catawba for repairs

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