Natural hazards · Windsor

Windsor, NC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Windsor comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 286 claims here since 1996. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Windsor?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Windsor to be higher than in 85% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes52%Inland flooding31%Tornadoes8%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Windsor faces

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

Hurricanes

52% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

31% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 29 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 Windsor flood?

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

286paid claims since 1996

$10.7Mpaid to owners

81homes flooded more than once

19962026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Matthew: 72 claims, $2.0M
Hurricane Floyd: 47 claims, $1.3M
Hurricane Irene: 3 claims, $54K

Homes that flooded again and again

Each house = 2 homes. ■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (14) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Bertie County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

81flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

16homes raised above flood level

5flood-prone homes bought out and moved

Disasters that hit Windsor

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WindsorDeclared for Bertie County only

2016

Hurricane Matthew

504 households applied for aid $544K aid approved $593K to the Town of Windsor for repairs

2011

Hurricane Irene

306 households applied for aid $298K aid approved $101K to the Town of Windsor for repairs

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

22 households applied for aid $49K aid approved

2010

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Straight-Line Winds

447 households applied for aid $828K aid approved

2003

Hurricane Isabel

1,182 households applied for aid $1.1M aid approved $286K to the Town of Windsor for repairs

1999

Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations

$1.5M to the Town of Windsor for repairs

Bertie County has had 21 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. Windsor 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 Windsor’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Windsor. 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.