Natural hazards · Tryon

Tryon, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Tryon comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 2014. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Tryon?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Tryon to be higher than in 50% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding56%Tornadoes12%Ice storms7%Cold waves6%Strong wind5%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Tryon faces

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

Inland flooding

56% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. places

Ice storms

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Tryon flood?

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

6paid claims since 2014

$337Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20142026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Helene: 4 claims, $295K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Polk County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Tryon

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into TryonDeclared for Polk County only

2024

Tropical Storm Helene

1,191 households applied for aid $2.1M aid approved $1.4M to the Town of Tryon for repairs

2004

Hurricane Ivan

1 household applied for aid

2004

Tropical Storm Frances

4 households applied for aid $10K to the Town of Tryon for repairs

2002

Severe Ice Storm

$5K to the Town of Tryon for repairs

Polk County has had 19 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. Tryon 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 Tryon’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Tryon. 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.