FEMA puts Arrowhead Beach’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 87% of U.S. towns, mostly from hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Arrowhead Beach gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 87% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (68%), then river and rain flooding (26%). 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 Arrowhead Beach 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
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 Arrowhead Beach’s grade
Hurricanes are 68% of the building damage FEMA expects in Arrowhead Beach, and Arrowhead Beach’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 2%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 87% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Arrowhead Beach’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $397K a year in losses across Arrowhead Beach: $274K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Arrowhead Beach flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Arrowhead Beach. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Arrowhead Beach isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Chowan County.The storms Arrowhead Beach remembers
None of the 19 disasters declared for Chowan County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Arrowhead Beach itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Chowan County has had 19 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Arrowhead Beach and its neighbors
Arrowhead Beach has the lowest expected damage per building of the 1 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arrowhead Beach | Dmore damage than 87% | hurricanes | 0 |
| Chowan Beach | — | 325 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
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 Arrowhead Beach 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.
- 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 Arrowhead Beach
Is Arrowhead Beach at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Arrowhead Beach has higher expected damage per building than 87% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (68%) and river and rain flooding (26%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Arrowhead Beach 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 Chowan County, 52% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 3.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Arrowhead Beach?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Arrowhead Beach’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Arrowhead Beach at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (68%), and Arrowhead Beach’s rate for it is in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Arrowhead Beach.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Arrowhead Beach’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.