Natural hazards · Delco

Delco, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Delco comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Delco?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Delco to be higher than in 92% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes55%Inland flooding17%Strong wind9%Tornadoes7%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Delco faces

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

Hurricanes

55% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Inland flooding

17% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 52% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Strong wind

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 29 years in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Delco flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Columbus County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Delco

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into DelcoDeclared for Columbus County only

2018

Hurricane Florence

273 households applied for aid $382K aid approved

2016

Hurricane Matthew

60 households applied for aid $20K aid approved

2011

Hurricane Irene

8 households applied for aid $1K aid approved

2004

Tropical Storm Frances

5 households applied for aid $7K aid approved

2003

Hurricane Isabel

35 households applied for aid $15K aid approved

Columbus County has had 21 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. Delco 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 Delco’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Delco. 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.