Natural hazards · Kelly

Kelly, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Kelly comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Kelly?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Kelly to be higher than in 88% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes54%Inland flooding28%Tornadoes6%Strong wind5%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Kelly faces

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

Hurricanes

54% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Inland flooding

28% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 43% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year 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 Kelly flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Bladen County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

9flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

7homes raised above flood level

Disasters that hit Kelly

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into KellyDeclared for Bladen County only

2018

Hurricane Florence

237 households applied for aid $567K aid approved

2016

Hurricane Matthew

121 households applied for aid $225K aid approved

2011

Hurricane Irene

8 households applied for aid

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

8 households applied for aid $1K aid approved

2004

Tropical Storm Frances

70 households applied for aid $139K aid approved

2003

Hurricane Isabel

87 households applied for aid $71K aid approved

Bladen County has had 21 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. Kelly 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 Kelly’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Kelly. 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.