Natural hazards · Kinston

Kinston, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Kinston comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 530 claims here since 1978. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Kinston?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Kinston to be higher than in 75% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.

Inland flooding45%Hurricanes33%Tornadoes11%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Kinston faces

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

Inland flooding

45% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Hurricanes

33% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places

Lower here

Coastal floodingHailIce 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 Kinston flood?

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

530paid claims since 1978

$36.8Mpaid to owners

87homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Floyd: 190 claims, $7.4M
Hurricane Matthew: 163 claims, $20.3M
Hurricane Florence: 90 claims, $8.3M

Homes that flooded again and again

Each house = 2 homes. ■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (13) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

🏷️ 20% off flood insurance. Kinston is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 6) for its flood-proofing work.

Insurance rates: Lenoir County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

743flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

11flood-prone homes bought out and moved

Disasters that hit Kinston

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into KinstonDeclared for Lenoir County only

2018

Hurricane Florence

1,154 households applied for aid $916K aid approved

2016

Hurricane Matthew

2,481 households applied for aid $3.5M aid approved

2011

Hurricane Irene

1,266 households applied for aid $823K aid approved

2003

Hurricane Isabel

276 households applied for aid $206K aid approved

Lenoir 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. Kinston covers 6 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Kinston’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Kinston. 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 Kinston total about $10.3M 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.