Photo: Excel23 · CC BY-SA 4.0FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Five Points than in 67% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Five Points gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (52%), then hurricanes (38%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What Five Points faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Hurricanes
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
What’s behind Five Points’ grade
River and rain flooding is 52% of the building damage FEMA expects in Five Points, and Five Points’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 51% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 5%, at a rate in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.
C higher expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Five Points’ residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $314K a year in losses across Five Points: $231K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Five Points flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Five Points. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Five Points isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Columbia County.The storms Five Points remembers
None of the 24 disasters declared for Columbia County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Five Points itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Columbia County has had 24 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Also 3 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Columbia County, 1999–2007.
Five Points and its neighbors
Five Points is 2nd of the 2 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake City | B−less damage than 52% | hurricanes | 17 |
| Five Points | Cmore damage than 67% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Five Points faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, 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.
- 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.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Five Points
Is Five Points at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Five Points has higher expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (52%) and hurricanes (38%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Five Points in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Columbia County, 27% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 2.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Five Points?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Five Points’ flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Five Points at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (52%), and Five Points’ rate for it is higher than 51% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Five Points.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Five Points’ residents lived in the 2020 census; 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. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.