Photo: Michael Rivera · CC BY-SA 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Raiford
Raiford isn’t graded for hazard risk: Raiford has 382 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Raiford faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
River and rain flooding
Wildfire
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.
Does Raiford flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Raiford. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Raiford isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Union County.5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Raiford
Disasters that paid out in Raiford itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Raiford), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Hurricane Helene59 households applied for aid$97K aid approved
- 2017Hurricane Irma179 households applied for aid$82K aid approved
- 2012Tropical Storm Debby13 households applied for aid$23K aid approved
- 2004Hurricane Jeanne53 households applied for aid$56K aid approved
- 2004Hurricane Frances39 households applied for aid$56K aid approved
Union County has had 21 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 Union County, 1999–2007.
Old photos of Raiford after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Raiford archive →Get ready for what Raiford faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- 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 Raiford
Is Raiford 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 Union County, 29% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Raiford?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Raiford’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Raiford?
By FEMA money that reached Raiford, Hurricane Helene (2024): 59 households applied for aid, $97K approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Raiford.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Raiford’s 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.