Natural hazards · Cordova

Cordova, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cordova comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Cordova?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cordova to be higher than in 42% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding35%Tornadoes23%Hurricanes17%Strong wind6%Everything else20%

By hazard

What Cordova faces

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

Inland flooding

35% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 38% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

23% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 37 years in the area

Hurricanes

17% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% 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 Cordova flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Richmond County.

Disasters that hit Cordova

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CordovaDeclared for Richmond County only

2018

Hurricane Florence

8 households applied for aid

2016

Hurricane Matthew

2 households applied for aid

Richmond County has had 15 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. Cordova 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 Cordova’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Cordova. 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.