Natural hazards · Stanley

Stanley, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Stanley comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very 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 Stanley?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Stanley to be higher than in 5% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding50%Tornadoes18%Earthquakes10%Ice storms7%Strong wind5%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Stanley faces

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

Inland flooding

50% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 7% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

18% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. places

Earthquakes

10% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places

Ice storms

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 33% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesLightning

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 Stanley flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Gaston County.

Disasters that hit Stanley

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into StanleyDeclared for Gaston County only

2024

Tropical Storm Helene

302 households applied for aid $346K aid approved

Gaston County has had 17 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. Stanley 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 Stanley’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Stanley. 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.