Natural hazards · Gulf

Gulf, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Gulf comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Gulf?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Gulf to be higher than in 34% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.

Inland flooding57%Hurricanes15%Tornadoes12%Everything else16%

By hazard

What Gulf faces

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

Inland flooding

57% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 47% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Hurricanes

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 62% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 20 years in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Gulf flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Gulf.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Chatham County.

Disasters that hit Gulf

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into GulfDeclared for Chatham County only

2018

Hurricane Florence

2 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

Chatham 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. Gulf 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 Gulf’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Gulf. 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.