Natural hazards · Pikeville

Pikeville, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Pikeville comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 2016. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Pikeville?

High

vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding45%Hurricanes32%Tornadoes8%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Pikeville faces

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

Inland flooding

45% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Hurricanes

32% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 70 years in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat 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 Pikeville flood?

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

4paid claims since 2016

$72Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

20162026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Matthew: 2 claims, $58K
Hurricane Florence: 2 claims, $14K

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

Insurance rates: Wayne County.

Disasters that hit Pikeville

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PikevilleDeclared for Wayne County only

2019

Hurricane Dorian

$142K to the Town of Pikeville for repairs

2018

Hurricane Florence

167 households applied for aid $43K aid approved $27K to the Town of Pikeville for repairs

2016

Hurricane Matthew

227 households applied for aid $110K aid approved $11K to the Town of Pikeville for repairs

2011

Hurricane Irene

36 households applied for aid $5K aid approved

2003

Hurricane Isabel

15 households applied for aid $10K aid approved

Wayne County has had 21 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe 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. Pikeville 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 Pikeville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Pikeville. 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.