Bath School · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainStorms, floods and disasters in Bath
Bath isn’t graded for hazard risk: Bath has 391 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 29 claims here since 1993.
What Bath 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 Bath flood? Sometimes: 29 flood claims since 1993
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Bath, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Irene10 claims · $239K
- Hurricane Floyd5 claims · $21K
- Hurricane Bonnie4 claims · $12K
Bath isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Beaufort County.8 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Bath
Disasters that paid out in Bath itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Bath), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2019Hurricane Dorian$18K to the Town of Bath for repairs
- 2018Hurricane Florence41 households applied for aid$29K aid approved$8K to the Town of Bath for repairs4 flood claims paid for it, $117K
- 2016Hurricane Matthew12 households applied for aid$5K aid approved
- 2011Hurricane Irene195 households applied for aid$252K aid approved$25K to the Town of Bath for repairs10 flood claims paid for it, $239K
- 2010Severe Storms, Flooding, and Straight-line Winds8 households applied for aid$11K aid approved
- 2008Tropical Storm Hanna$2K to the Town of Bath for repairs
Show all 8
- 2003Hurricane Isabel83 households applied for aid$114K aid approved$7K to the Town of Bath for repairs1 flood claim paid for it, $4K
- 1999Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations$4K to the Town of Bath for repairs5 flood claims paid for it, $21K
Beaufort County has had 23 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.
Old photos of Bath after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Bath archive →Get ready for what Bath 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.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Bath
Does Bath flood?
Flood insurance has paid 29 claims in Bath since 1993, $432K in all. 5 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Irene (10).
Is Bath 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 Beaufort County, 56% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 13.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Bath?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Bath’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 Bath?
By FEMA money that reached Bath, Hurricane Irene (2011): 195 households applied for aid, $252K approved, and $25K to the Town of Bath for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Irene: 10 paid, $239K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bath.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Bath’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.