Natural hazards · Gatesville

Gatesville, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Gatesville comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 2010. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Gatesville?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Gatesville to be higher than in 39% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes33%Inland flooding30%Strong wind13%Tornadoes6%Everything else18%

By hazard

What Gatesville faces

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

Hurricanes

33% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

30% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 39% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Strong wind

13% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 46% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 23 years in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

Not a risk here

AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Gatesville flood?

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

3paid claims since 2010

$125Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

20102026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Matthew: 2 claims, $117K

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. Gatesville isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Gates County.

Disasters that hit Gatesville

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into GatesvilleDeclared for Gates County only

2016

Hurricane Matthew

26 households applied for aid $43K aid approved

2011

Hurricane Irene

28 households applied for aid $16K aid approved

2003

Hurricane Isabel

200 households applied for aid $138K aid approved

Gates County has had 17 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. Gatesville 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 Gatesville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Gatesville. 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.