Natural hazards · Moravian Falls

Moravian Falls, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Moravian Falls comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Moravian Falls?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Moravian Falls to be higher than in 57% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding77%Tornadoes7%Cold waves5%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Moravian Falls faces

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

Inland flooding

77% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 62% of U.S. places

Cold waves

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Moravian Falls flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Wilkes County.

Disasters that hit Moravian Falls

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Moravian FallsDeclared for Wilkes County only

2024

Tropical Storm Helene

166 households applied for aid $160K aid approved

2004

Hurricane Ivan

1 household applied for aid

Wilkes County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and winter storms.

Around Moravian Falls

Moravian Falls and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Wilkesboromostly inland floodingHigh

Moravian Fallsmostly inland floodingModerate

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. Moravian Falls 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 Moravian Falls’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Moravian Falls. 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.