Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Pisgah
Pisgah isn’t graded for hazard risk: Pisgah has 255 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2007.
What Pisgah 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
Tornadoes
Hail
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 Pisgah flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 2007
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Pisgah, from FEMA’s records.
Pisgah isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Harrison County.5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Pisgah
Disasters that paid out in Pisgah itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Pisgah), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2025Severe Winter Storm$10K to the City of Pisgah for repairs
- 2024Severe Storms and Tornadoes2 households applied for aid$750 aid approved
- 2009Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm$1K to the City of Pisgah for repairs
- 2008Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding2 households applied for aid$9K to the City of Pisgah for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
- 2007Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes5 households applied for aid$4K aid approved1 flood claim paid that year
Harrison County has had 21 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Pisgah after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Pisgah archive →Get ready for what Pisgah 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.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- Park in a garage or under cover when storms are forecast.
- Stay away from windows while it falls.
- Photograph roof and car damage for your insurer.
- 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 Pisgah
Does Pisgah flood?
Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Pisgah since 2007, $36K in all.
Is Pisgah 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 Harrison County, 14% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 2.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Pisgah?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Pisgah’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 Pisgah?
By FEMA money that reached Pisgah, Severe Winter Storm (2025): $10K to the City of Pisgah for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Pisgah.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Pisgah’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.