Natural hazards · Riegelwood

Riegelwood, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Riegelwood comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Riegelwood?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Riegelwood to be higher than in 92% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes55%Inland flooding17%Strong wind9%Tornadoes7%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Riegelwood faces

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

Hurricanes

55% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Inland flooding

17% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 52% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Strong wind

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 29 years in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Riegelwood flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Columbus County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Riegelwood

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RiegelwoodDeclared for Columbus County only

2018

Hurricane Florence

573 households applied for aid $642K aid approved

2016

Hurricane Matthew

323 households applied for aid $94K aid approved

2011

Hurricane Irene

49 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

2004

Tropical Storm Frances

227 households applied for aid $390K aid approved

2003

Hurricane Isabel

429 households applied for aid $822K aid approved

Columbus 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. Riegelwood 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 Riegelwood’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Riegelwood. 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.