Walnut Creek’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Walnut Creek comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 19 claims here since 1999. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Walnut Creek’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Walnut Creek flood? Sometimes: 19 flood claims since 1999
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Walnut Creek, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Matthew14 claims · $778K
- Hurricane Floyd3 claims · $269K
- Hurricane Florence2 claims · $3K
Walnut Creek is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 9) for its flood-proofing work.
Insurance rates: Wayne County.6 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Walnut Creek
Disasters that paid out in Walnut Creek itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Village of Walnut Creek) and its biggest flood years.
- 2018Hurricane Florence$395K to the Village of Walnut Creek for repairs
- 2016Hurricane Matthew$1.0M to the Village of Walnut Creek for repairs14 flood claims paid that year
- 2011Hurricane Irene$95K to the Village of Walnut Creek for repairs
- 2003Hurricane Isabel$60K to the Village of Walnut Creek for repairs
- 2002Severe Ice Storm$4K to the Village of Walnut Creek for repairs
- 1999Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations$2.0M to the Village of Walnut Creek for repairs
Wayne County has had 21 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.
Old photos of Walnut Creek after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Walnut Creek archive →How exposed is Walnut Creek?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 73% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.
Rated higher than 522 of the 772 North Carolina towns we cover.
Walnut Creek covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
What Walnut Creek faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Hurricanes
Tornadoes
Get ready for what Walnut Creek actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
- Walnut Creek residents get 05% off flood insurance.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Most disasters here begin in August–September
The month each of Wayne County’s 21 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Walnut Creek’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Walnut Creek.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels. Across Walnut Creek, expected losses total about $3.9M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Walnut Creek.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.