Photo: Piperpet · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Bolivia
Bolivia isn’t graded for hazard risk: Bolivia has 247 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 2024.
What Bolivia 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.
Does Bolivia flood? Rarely: 4 flood claims since 2024
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Bolivia, from FEMA’s records.
- Tropical Cyclone Eight4 claims · $107K
Bolivia isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Brunswick County.5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Bolivia
Disasters that paid out in Bolivia itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Bolivia), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2018Hurricane Florence731 households applied for aid$770K aid approved$37K to the Town of Bolivia for repairs
- 2016Hurricane Matthew45 households applied for aid$3K aid approved
- 2011Hurricane Irene18 households applied for aid$288 aid approved
- 2010Severe Storms, Flooding, and Straight-line Winds78 households applied for aid$55K aid approved
- 2003Hurricane Isabel14 households applied for aid$9K aid approved
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 Bolivia after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Bolivia archive →Get ready for what Bolivia 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 Bolivia
Does Bolivia flood?
Flood insurance has paid 4 claims in Bolivia since 2024, $107K in all. The most claims came from Tropical Cyclone Eight (4).
Is Bolivia 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 Bolivia?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Bolivia’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 Bolivia?
By FEMA money that reached Bolivia, Hurricane Florence (2018): 731 households applied for aid, $770K approved, and $37K to the Town of Bolivia for repairs. By flood claims, Tropical Cyclone Eight: 4 paid, $107K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bolivia.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Bolivia’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.