Natural hazards · Columbia

Columbia, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Columbia comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 173 claims here since 1985. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Columbia?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Columbia to be higher than in 99% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes.

Hurricanes79%Inland flooding8%Coastal flooding7%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Columbia faces

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

Hurricanes

79% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Inland flooding

8% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 29% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 14 years in the area

Coastal flooding

7% of expected damage

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

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Columbia flood?

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

173paid claims since 1985

$4.3Mpaid to owners

44homes flooded more than once

19852026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Irene: 73 claims, $1.7M
Hurricane Matthew: 50 claims, $1.9M
Hurricane Isabel: 5 claims, $26K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (2) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Tyrrell County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

4homes raised above flood level

Disasters that hit Columbia

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ColumbiaDeclared for Tyrrell County only

2019

Hurricane Dorian

$81K to the Town of Columbia for repairs

2016

Hurricane Matthew

276 households applied for aid $267K aid approved $50K to the Town of Columbia for repairs

2011

Hurricane Irene

550 households applied for aid $1.1M aid approved $49K to the Town of Columbia for repairs

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

6 households applied for aid $10K aid approved

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Straight-Line Winds

212 households applied for aid $161K aid approved

2003

Hurricane Isabel

740 households applied for aid $868K aid approved $24K to the Town of Columbia for repairs

1999

Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations

$3K to the Town of Columbia for repairs

Tyrrell County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe 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. Columbia 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 Columbia’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Columbia. 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.