Natural hazards · Fair Bluff

Fair Bluff, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Fair Bluff comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 62 claims here since 1999. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Fair Bluff?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Fair Bluff to be higher than in 91% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes45%Inland flooding22%Strong wind13%Tornadoes7%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Fair Bluff faces

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

Hurricanes

45% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

22% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Strong wind

13% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 21 years in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Fair Bluff flood?

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

62paid claims since 1999

$3.6Mpaid to owners

10homes flooded more than once

19992026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Florence: 43 claims, $2.4M
Hurricane Matthew: 13 claims, $1.1M
Hurricane Floyd: 3 claims, $25K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (3) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Fair Bluff 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

31flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

17homes raised above flood level

Disasters that hit Fair Bluff

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Fair BluffDeclared for Columbus County only

2018

Hurricane Florence

209 households applied for aid $335K aid approved $58K to the Town of Fair Bluff for repairs

2016

Hurricane Matthew

480 households applied for aid $1.9M aid approved $282K to the Town of Fair Bluff for repairs

2011

Hurricane Irene

48 households applied for aid $9K aid approved

2004

Tropical Storm Frances

125 households applied for aid $149K aid approved

2003

Hurricane Isabel

129 households applied for aid $56K aid approved

1999

Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations

$125K to the Town of Fair Bluff for repairs

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