Natural hazards · St. Pauls

St. Pauls, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in St. Pauls comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 2018. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is St. Pauls?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in St. Pauls to be higher than in 60% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes38%Inland flooding21%Tornadoes18%Earthquakes7%Strong wind5%Everything else10%

By hazard

What St. Pauls faces

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

Hurricanes

38% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

21% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 16% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

18% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 52 years in the area

Earthquakes

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesLightningDrought

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 St. Pauls flood?

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

3paid claims since 2018

$30Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

20182026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Florence: 1 claim, $3K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Robeson County.

Disasters that hit St. Pauls

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into St. PaulsDeclared for Robeson County only

2019

Hurricane Dorian

$12K to the Town of St. Pauls for repairs

2018

Hurricane Florence

749 households applied for aid $582K aid approved $211K to the Town of St. Pauls for repairs

2016

Hurricane Matthew

1,283 households applied for aid $1.5M aid approved $195K to the Town of St. Pauls for repairs

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

52 households applied for aid $12K aid approved

2004

Tropical Storm Frances

310 households applied for aid $272K aid approved

2003

Hurricane Isabel

235 households applied for aid $101K aid approved

1999

Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations

$39K to the Town of St. Pauls for repairs

Robeson County has had 18 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. St. Pauls 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 St. Pauls’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of St. Pauls. 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.