Natural hazards · Elizabethtown

Elizabethtown, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Elizabethtown comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 5 claims here since 2005. 8 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Elizabethtown?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Elizabethtown to be higher than in 85% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes62%Inland flooding16%Tornadoes9%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Elizabethtown faces

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

Hurricanes

62% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Inland flooding

16% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Elizabethtown flood?

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

5paid claims since 2005

$96Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

20052026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Florence: 2 claims, $35K
Hurricane Matthew: 1 claim, $43K
Hurricane Debby: 1 claim, $14K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Bladen County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1homes raised above flood level

Disasters that hit Elizabethtown

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ElizabethtownDeclared for Bladen County only

2019

Hurricane Dorian

$13K to the Town of Elizabethtown for repairs

2018

Hurricane Florence

759 households applied for aid $526K aid approved $4.5M to the Town of Elizabethtown for repairs

2016

Hurricane Matthew

826 households applied for aid $473K aid approved $398K to the Town of Elizabethtown for repairs

2011

Hurricane Irene

17 households applied for aid $22K aid approved

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

180 households applied for aid $60K aid approved $11K to the Town of Elizabethtown for repairs

2004

Tropical Storm Frances

751 households applied for aid $1.3M aid approved

2003

Hurricane Isabel

768 households applied for aid $462K aid approved

1999

Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations

$207K to the Town of Elizabethtown for repairs

Bladen 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. Elizabethtown covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Elizabethtown’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Elizabethtown. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Elizabethtown total about $4.0M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.