Natural hazards · Sunbury

Sunbury, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sunbury comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Sunbury?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sunbury to be higher than in 39% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.

Inland flooding34%Hurricanes30%Strong wind13%Tornadoes6%Everything else17%

By hazard

What Sunbury faces

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

Inland flooding

34% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 40% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Hurricanes

30% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Strong wind

13% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 46% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 11 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 Sunbury flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Gates County.

Disasters that hit Sunbury

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SunburyDeclared for Gates County only

2016

Hurricane Matthew

26 households applied for aid $60K aid approved

2011

Hurricane Irene

21 households applied for aid $6K aid approved

2003

Hurricane Isabel

219 households applied for aid $117K aid approved

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