Natural hazards · Elm

Elm, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Elm comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 2016. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Elm?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Elm to be higher than in 53% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.

Inland flooding50%Hurricanes21%Drought7%Tornadoes5%Everything else17%

By hazard

What Elm faces

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

Inland flooding

50% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Hurricanes

21% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Drought

7% of expected damage

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 58% of U.S. places

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Elm flood?

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

3paid claims since 2016

$17Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20162026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Matthew: 1 claim, $7K
Hurricane Eta: 1 claim, $827

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Wilson County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

16flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Elm

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ElmDeclared for Wilson County only

2018

Hurricane Florence

29 households applied for aid $14K aid approved $37K to the Town of Elm for repairs

2016

Hurricane Matthew

59 households applied for aid $65K aid approved

2011

Hurricane Irene

41 households applied for aid $25K aid approved $57K to the Town of Elm for repairs

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

6 households applied for aid

2003

Hurricane Isabel

14 households applied for aid $9K aid approved $15K to the Town of Elm for repairs

1999

Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations

$34K to the Town of Elm for repairs

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