Natural hazards · Marshall

Marshall, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Marshall comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 53 claims here since 1978. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Marshall?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Marshall to be higher than in 53% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding64%Cold waves12%Lightning5%Everything else19%

By hazard

What Marshall faces

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

Inland flooding

64% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

12% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 56% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lightning

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong wind

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHeat wavesDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Marshall flood?

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

53paid claims since 1978

$5.9Mpaid to owners

4homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Helene: 20 claims, $5.4M
Tropical Storm Ivan: 11 claims, $342K

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

Insurance rates: Madison County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

13flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Marshall

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MarshallDeclared for Madison County only

2024

Tropical Storm Helene

2,342 households applied for aid $4.0M aid approved $11.1M to the Town of Marshall for repairs

2021

Remnants of Tropical Storm Fred

5 households applied for aid $8K aid approved

2009

Severe Winter Storms and Flooding

$18K to the Town of Marshall for repairs

2004

Hurricane Ivan

122 households applied for aid $299K aid approved $105K to the Town of Marshall for repairs

2004

Tropical Storm Frances

19 households applied for aid $61K aid approved $2K to the Town of Marshall for repairs

Madison County has had 19 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. Marshall 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 Marshall’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Marshall. 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.