Natural hazards · Kure Beach

Kure Beach, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Kure Beach comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 585 claims here since 1984. 12 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Kure Beach?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Kure Beach to be higher than in 92% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes.

Hurricanes83%Inland flooding11%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Kure Beach faces

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

Hurricanes

83% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Inland flooding

11% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 13% 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 Kure Beach flood?

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

585paid claims since 1984

$27.3Mpaid to owners

92homes flooded more than once

19842026

Biggest named events

Tropical Cyclone Eight: 161 claims, $8.4M
Hurricane Fran: 137 claims, $11.1M
Hurricane Floyd: 81 claims, $2.4M

Homes that flooded again and again

Each house = 2 homes. ■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (24) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

🏷️ 10% off flood insurance. Kure Beach is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 8) for its flood-proofing work.

Insurance rates: New Hanover County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Kure Beach

12 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Kure BeachDeclared for New Hanover County only

2024

Potential Tropical Cyclone Eight

$293K to the Town of Kure Beach for repairs

2020

Hurricane Isaias

$100K to the Town of Kure Beach for repairs

2019

Hurricane Dorian

$96K to the Town of Kure Beach for repairs

2018

Hurricane Florence

113 households applied for aid $21K aid approved $368K to the Town of Kure Beach for repairs

2016

Hurricane Matthew

$186K to the Town of Kure Beach for repairs

2011

Hurricane Irene

4 households applied for aid $28K to the Town of Kure Beach for repairs

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Straight-Line Winds

3 households applied for aid $8K aid approved

2008

Tropical Storm Hanna

$22K to the Town of Kure Beach for repairs

2005

Hurricane Ophelia

$32K to the Town of Kure Beach for repairs

2003

Hurricane Isabel

1 household applied for aid $21K to the Town of Kure Beach for repairs

1999

Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations

$148K to the Town of Kure Beach for repairs

1999

Hurricane Dennis

$24K to the Town of Kure Beach for repairs

New Hanover County has had 23 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. Kure Beach 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 Kure Beach’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Kure Beach. 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.