Natural hazards · Whitakers

Whitakers, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Whitakers comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Whitakers?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Whitakers to be higher than in 27% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.

Inland flooding40%Hurricanes25%Tornadoes12%Drought7%Everything else16%

By hazard

What Whitakers faces

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

Inland flooding

40% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 20% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Hurricanes

25% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 36 years in the area

Drought

7% of expected damage

Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Whitakers flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Nash County.

Disasters that hit Whitakers

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WhitakersDeclared for Nash County only

2024

Tropical Storm Helene

9 households applied for aid $28K aid approved

2016

Hurricane Matthew

87 households applied for aid $129K aid approved

2011

Hurricane Irene

134 households applied for aid $89K aid approved $35K to the Town of Whitakers for repairs

2003

Hurricane Isabel

103 households applied for aid $117K aid approved $3K to the Town of Whitakers for repairs

2002

Severe Ice Storm

$4K to the Town of Whitakers for repairs

2000

Severe Winter Storm

$1K to the Town of Whitakers for repairs

1999

Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations

$27K to the Town of Whitakers for repairs

Nash 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. Whitakers 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 Whitakers’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Whitakers. 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.