Natural hazards · Half Moon

Half Moon, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Half Moon comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 2018. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Half Moon?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Half Moon to be higher than in 99% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes.

Hurricanes74%Inland flooding15%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Half Moon faces

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

Hurricanes

74% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Inland flooding

15% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 67% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Half Moon flood?

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

6paid claims since 2018

$465Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20182026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Florence: 5 claims, $459K
Hurricane Debby: 1 claim, $6K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Onslow County.

Disasters that hit Half Moon

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Half MoonDeclared for Onslow County only

2016

Hurricane Matthew

1 household applied for aid

Onslow County has had 21 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.

Around Half Moon

Half Moon and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Half Moonmostly hurricanesVery high

Jacksonvillemostly hurricanesVery high

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. Half Moon covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Half Moon’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Half Moon. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Half Moon total about $2.9M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.