Natural hazards · Hertford

Hertford, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Hertford comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 15 claims here since 1999. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Hertford?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Hertford to be higher than in 84% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes64%Inland flooding16%Strong wind6%Tornadoes6%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Hertford faces

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

Hurricanes

64% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Inland flooding

16% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 23% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Strong wind

6% 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 64% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 39 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 Hertford flood?

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

15paid claims since 1999

$305Kpaid to owners

3homes flooded more than once

19992026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Isabel: 11 claims, $280K
Hurricane Matthew: 1 claim, $1K
Hurricane Floyd: 1 claim, $7K

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

Insurance rates: Perquimans County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

5flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Hertford

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HertfordDeclared for Perquimans County only

2019

Hurricane Dorian

$17K to the Town of Hertford for repairs

2016

Hurricane Matthew

90 households applied for aid $31K aid approved $46K to the Town of Hertford for repairs

2011

Hurricane Irene

154 households applied for aid $78K aid approved $50K to the Town of Hertford for repairs

2005

Hurricane Ophelia

$7K to the Town of Hertford for repairs

2003

Hurricane Isabel

1,730 households applied for aid $1.5M aid approved $607K to the Town of Hertford for repairs

1999

Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations

$176K to the Town of Hertford for repairs

Perquimans County has had 18 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. Hertford 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 Hertford’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Hertford. 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.