Natural hazards · Mount Airy

Mount Airy, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Mount Airy comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 43 claims here since 1978. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Mount Airy?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Mount Airy to be higher than in 68% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding69%Cold waves16%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Mount Airy faces

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

Inland flooding

69% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

16% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 55% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Mount Airy flood?

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

43paid claims since 1978

$1.2Mpaid to owners

5homes flooded more than once

19782026

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Surry County.

Disasters that hit Mount Airy

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Mount AiryDeclared for Surry County only

2024

Tropical Storm Helene

239 households applied for aid $172K aid approved $829K to the City of Mount Airy for repairs

Surry County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and winter storms.

Around Mount Airy

Mount Airy and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Mount Airymostly inland floodingHigh

Flat Rockmostly inland floodingModerate

Toastmostly inland floodingModerate

White Plainsmostly 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. Mount Airy covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Mount Airy’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Mount Airy. 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 Mount Airy total about $3.7M 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.