Natural hazards · Rocky Mount

Rocky Mount, VA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Rocky Mount comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Rocky Mount?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Rocky Mount to be higher than in 6% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding69%Strong wind9%Earthquakes8%Hurricanes5%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Rocky Mount faces

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

Inland flooding

69% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 15% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Strong wind

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 54% of U.S. places

Hurricanes

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 19 years in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Rocky Mount flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Franklin County.

Disasters that hit Rocky Mount

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Rocky MountDeclared for Franklin County only

2025

Severe Winter Storms and Flooding

$71K to the Town of Rocky Mount for repairs

2018

Tropical Storm Michael

$61K to the Town of Rocky Mount for repairs

2018

Hurricane Florence

$15K to the Town of Rocky Mount for repairs

2012

Severe Storms and Straight-Line Winds

$6K to the Town of Rocky Mount for repairs

Franklin County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.

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. Rocky Mount covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Rocky Mount’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Rocky Mount. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Rocky Mount total about $853K a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.