Natural hazards · Powellsville

Powellsville, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Powellsville comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Powellsville?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Powellsville to be higher than in 80% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes59%Inland flooding22%Tornadoes7%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Powellsville faces

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

Hurricanes

59% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

22% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 44% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Powellsville flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Bertie County.

Disasters that hit Powellsville

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PowellsvilleDeclared for Bertie County only

2016

Hurricane Matthew

21 households applied for aid $10K aid approved

2011

Hurricane Irene

27 households applied for aid $26K aid approved $375 to the Town of Powellsville for repairs

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Straight-Line Winds

14 households applied for aid $7K aid approved

2003

Hurricane Isabel

145 households applied for aid $201K aid approved $44K to the Town of Powellsville for repairs

Bertie County has had 21 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. Powellsville 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 Powellsville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Powellsville. 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.