Natural hazards · Murphy

Murphy, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Murphy comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 1982. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Murphy?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Murphy to be higher than in 43% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding61%Tornadoes13%Earthquakes10%Cold waves7%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Murphy faces

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

Inland flooding

61% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 57% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Earthquakes

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong 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 Murphy flood?

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

4paid claims since 1982

$25Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19822026

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

Insurance rates: Cherokee County.

Disasters that hit Murphy

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MurphyDeclared for Cherokee County only

2024

Tropical Storm Helene

65 households applied for aid $112K aid approved

Cherokee County has had 13 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. Murphy 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 Murphy’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Murphy. 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.