Goldsboro’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Goldsboro comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 621 claims here since 1979. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Goldsboro’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Goldsboro flood? Yes: 621 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Goldsboro, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Matthew276 claims · $19.2M
- Hurricane Floyd183 claims · $5.5M
- Hurricane Florence80 claims · $2.2M
Goldsboro is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 7) for its flood-proofing work.
Insurance rates: Wayne County.5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Goldsboro
Disasters that paid out in Goldsboro itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Goldsboro) and its biggest flood years.
- 2018Hurricane Florence1,850 households applied for aid$705K aid approved$2.2M to the City of Goldsboro for repairs81 flood claims paid that year
- 2016Hurricane Matthew4,524 households applied for aid$7.5M aid approved$3.0M to the City of Goldsboro for repairs278 flood claims paid that year
- 2011Hurricane Irene216 households applied for aid$90K aid approved$550K to the City of Goldsboro for repairs
- 2003Hurricane Isabel102 households applied for aid$46K aid approved
- 1999Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations$2.7M to the City of Goldsboro for repairs190 flood claims paid that year
Wayne County has had 21 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.
Old photos of Goldsboro after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Goldsboro archive →How exposed is Goldsboro?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 57% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.
Rated higher than 416 of the 772 North Carolina towns we cover.
Goldsboro covers 9 census tracts, combined by population.
What Goldsboro faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Hurricanes
Tornadoes
Get ready for what Goldsboro actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
- Goldsboro residents get 15% off flood insurance.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Goldsboro and its neighbors
Goldsboro has the lowest rating of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.
Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Most disasters here begin in August–September
The month each of Wayne County’s 21 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Goldsboro’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Goldsboro.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels. Across Goldsboro, expected losses total about $15.0M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Goldsboro.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.