Natural hazards · Dover

Dover, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Dover comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2024. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Dover?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Dover to be higher than in 98% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes.

Hurricanes74%Inland flooding14%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Dover faces

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

Hurricanes

74% 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

14% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailIce 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 Dover flood?

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

1paid claims since 2024

$1Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20242026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Debby: 1 claim, $1K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Craven County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Dover

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into DoverDeclared for Craven County only

2018

Hurricane Florence

152 households applied for aid $30K aid approved

2016

Hurricane Matthew

73 households applied for aid $45K aid approved

2011

Hurricane Irene

189 households applied for aid $119K aid approved $21K to the Town of Dover for repairs

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $1K aid approved

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Straight-Line Winds

30 households applied for aid $74K aid approved

2003

Hurricane Isabel

62 households applied for aid $77K aid approved

Craven County has had 22 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. Dover 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 Dover’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Dover. 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.