Natural hazards · Ellerbe

Ellerbe, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ellerbe comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is low 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 Ellerbe?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ellerbe to be higher than in 33% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes34%Inland flooding31%Tornadoes15%Everything else20%

By hazard

What Ellerbe faces

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

Hurricanes

34% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Inland flooding

31% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 26% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 11 years in the area

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 Ellerbe flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Ellerbe 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 Ellerbe

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into EllerbeDeclared for Richmond County only

2018

Hurricane Florence

66 households applied for aid $5K aid approved

2016

Hurricane Matthew

6 households applied for aid $14K aid approved

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. Ellerbe 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 Ellerbe’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Ellerbe. 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.