Natural hazards · Rockwell

Rockwell, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Rockwell comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2010. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Rockwell?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Rockwell to be higher than in 37% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding48%Cold waves25%Tornadoes12%Everything else16%

By hazard

What Rockwell faces

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

Inland flooding

48% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 54% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

25% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 18% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 90 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat 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 Rockwell flood?

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

1paid claims since 2010

$700paid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20102026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Rowan County.

Disasters that hit Rockwell

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RockwellDeclared for Rowan County only

2024

Tropical Storm Helene

29 households applied for aid $41K aid approved

Rowan County has had 16 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. Rockwell 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 Rockwell’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Rockwell. 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.