Photo: KudzuVine · Public domainStorms, floods and disasters in Bald Head Island
Bald Head Island isn’t graded for hazard risk: Bald Head Island has 190 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 437 claims here since 1985.
What Bald Head Island 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
Coastal 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.
Does Bald Head Island flood? Yes: 437 flood claims since 1985
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Bald Head Island, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Florence211 claims · $4.0M
- Hurricane Floyd82 claims · $344K
- Tropical Cyclone Eight31 claims · $341K
Bald Head Island is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 7) for its flood-proofing work.
Insurance rates: Brunswick County.11 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Bald Head Island
Disasters that paid out in Bald Head Island itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Village of Bald Head Island), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Potential Tropical Cyclone Eight$575K to the Village of Bald Head Island for repairs33 flood claims paid that year
- 2020Hurricane Isaias$583K to the Village of Bald Head Island for repairs
- 2019Hurricane Dorian$124K to the Village of Bald Head Island for repairs
- 2018Hurricane Florence60 households applied for aid$20K aid approved$4.3M to the Village of Bald Head Island for repairs211 flood claims paid for it, $4.0M
- 2016Hurricane Matthew$107K to the Village of Bald Head Island for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
- 2011Hurricane Irene$1.8M to the Village of Bald Head Island for repairs
Show all 11
- 2008Tropical Storm Hanna$48K to the Village of Bald Head Island for repairs
- 2005Hurricane Ophelia$27K to the Village of Bald Head Island for repairs
- 2005Hurricane Ophelia$12K to the Village of Bald Head Island for repairs
- 2003Hurricane Isabel$66K to the Village of Bald Head Island for repairs2 flood claims paid that year
- 1999Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations$767K to the Village of Bald Head Island for repairs82 flood claims paid for it, $344K
Brunswick County has had 25 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.
Also 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Brunswick County, 2025–2025.
Old photos of Bald Head Island after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Bald Head Island archive →Get ready for what Bald Head Island 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.
- Know your evacuation zone and the way off the coast.
- Storm surge comes fast: leave when you’re told, not when the water arrives.
- Move cars to high ground before king tides and nor’easters.
- 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.
- Bald Head Island residents get 15% off flood insurance.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Bald Head Island
Does Bald Head Island flood?
Flood insurance has paid 437 claims in Bald Head Island since 1985, $6.6M in all. 42 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Florence (211).
Is Bald Head Island 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 Brunswick County, 78% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 21.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Bald Head Island?
Bald Head Island is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 7), which takes 15% off federal flood insurance policies for its flood-proofing work. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Bald Head Island?
By FEMA money that reached Bald Head Island, Hurricane Florence (2018): 60 households applied for aid, $20K approved, and $4.3M to the Village of Bald Head Island for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Florence: 211 paid, $4.0M.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bald Head Island.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Bald Head Island’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.