Natural hazards · Richlands

Richlands, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Richlands comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 12 claims here since 1999. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Richlands?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Richlands to be higher than in 97% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes.

Hurricanes77%Inland flooding12%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Richlands faces

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

Hurricanes

77% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Inland flooding

12% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 40% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailIce 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 Richlands flood?

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

12paid claims since 1999

$588Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19992026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Florence: 11 claims, $581K
Hurricane Floyd: 1 claim, $7K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Onslow County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

7flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Richlands

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RichlandsDeclared for Onslow County only

2020

Hurricane Isaias

$20K to the Town of Richlands for repairs

2018

Hurricane Florence

1,769 households applied for aid $1.2M aid approved $143K to the Town of Richlands for repairs

2016

Hurricane Matthew

63 households applied for aid $78K aid approved $22K to the Town of Richlands for repairs

2011

Hurricane Irene

153 households applied for aid $193K aid approved $36K to the Town of Richlands for repairs

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Straight-Line Winds

24 households applied for aid $58K aid approved

2003

Hurricane Isabel

26 households applied for aid $29K aid approved $19K to the Town of Richlands for repairs

1999

Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations

$18K to the Town of Richlands for repairs

Onslow 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. Richlands 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 Richlands’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Richlands. 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.