Natural hazards · Vanceboro

Vanceboro, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Vanceboro comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1999. 8 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Vanceboro?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Vanceboro to be higher than in 98% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes72%Inland flooding16%Tornadoes5%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Vanceboro faces

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

Hurricanes

72% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Inland flooding

16% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 67% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 13 years in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Vanceboro flood?

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

1paid claims since 1999

$3Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19992026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Floyd: 1 claim, $3K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Craven County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

9flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Vanceboro

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into VanceboroDeclared for Craven County only

2020

Hurricane Isaias

$20K to the Town of Vanceboro for repairs

2018

Hurricane Florence

378 households applied for aid $215K aid approved $23K to the Town of Vanceboro for repairs

2016

Hurricane Matthew

326 households applied for aid $574K aid approved $17K to the Town of Vanceboro for repairs

2011

Hurricane Irene

348 households applied for aid $314K aid approved $83K to the Town of Vanceboro for repairs

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

4 households applied for aid $3K aid approved

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Straight-Line Winds

126 households applied for aid $211K aid approved

2003

Hurricane Isabel

55 households applied for aid $74K aid approved

1999

Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations

$33K to the Town of Vanceboro for repairs

Craven County has had 22 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. Vanceboro 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 Vanceboro’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Vanceboro. 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.