Natural hazards · Fairmont

Fairmont, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Fairmont comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 2016. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Fairmont?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Fairmont to be higher than in 67% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes34%Inland flooding25%Tornadoes17%Earthquakes9%Strong wind6%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Fairmont 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 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

25% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 32% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 48 years in the area

Earthquakes

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Fairmont flood?

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

6paid claims since 2016

$124Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20162026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Florence: 3 claims, $119K
Hurricane Matthew: 2 claims, $5K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Robeson County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

5flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Fairmont

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into FairmontDeclared for Robeson County only

2018

Hurricane Florence

694 households applied for aid $304K aid approved

2016

Hurricane Matthew

1,430 households applied for aid $1.1M aid approved

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

84 households applied for aid $41K aid approved

2004

Tropical Storm Frances

594 households applied for aid $600K aid approved

2003

Hurricane Isabel

451 households applied for aid $229K aid approved

Robeson County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe 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. Fairmont 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 Fairmont’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Fairmont. 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.