Natural hazards · Rutherford College

Rutherford College, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Rutherford College comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Rutherford College?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Rutherford College to be higher than in 20% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding55%Tornadoes15%Earthquakes8%Ice storms5%Everything else18%

By hazard

What Rutherford College faces

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

Inland flooding

55% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 28% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places

Earthquakes

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Ice storms

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Rutherford College flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Burke County.

Disasters that hit Rutherford College

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Rutherford CollegeDeclared for Burke County only

2024

Tropical Storm Helene

12 households applied for aid $37K aid approved

Burke County has had 21 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and winter storms.

Around Rutherford College

Rutherford College and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Connelly Springsmostly inland floodingModerate

Rutherford Collegemostly inland floodingLow

Valdesemostly inland floodingVery low

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