On FEMA’s figures, few U.S. towns expect more hazard damage per building than Broad Creek, mostly from hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Broad Creek gets a D− for hazard risk: among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (92%). Flood insurance has paid 120 claims here since 1996.
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 stands out about Broad Creek’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Broad Creek 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 Broad Creek’s grade
Hurricanes are 92% of the building damage FEMA expects in Broad Creek, and Broad Creek’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 1%, at a rate in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.
D− among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns (21,298).
Broad Creek’s residents live in 3 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $3.9M a year in losses across Broad Creek: $3.7M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Broad Creek flood? Yes: 120 flood claims since 1996
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Broad Creek, from FEMA’s records: 114.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 97% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- Hurricane Florence43 claims · $2.4M
- Hurricane Floyd32 claims · $522K
- Hurricane Ophelia15 claims · $181K
Broad Creek isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Carteret County.The storms Broad Creek remembers
None of the 20 disasters declared for Carteret County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Broad Creek itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 201843 flood claims paidThe year of Hurricane Florence, declared for Carteret County
- 199934 flood claims paidThe year of Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations, declared for Carteret County
- 200516 flood claims paidThe year of Hurricane Ophelia, declared for Carteret County
Carteret County has had 20 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 Broad Creek after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Broad Creek archive →Get ready for what Broad Creek 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 Broad Creek
Is Broad Creek at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Broad Creek has among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (92%) and river and rain flooding (5%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Broad Creek flood?
Flood insurance has paid 120 claims in Broad Creek since 1996, $3.5M in all, or 114.3 per 1,000 homes, more than 97% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Florence (43).
Is Broad Creek 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 Carteret County, 52% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 21.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Broad Creek?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Broad Creek’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 Broad Creek?
By flood claims, Hurricane Florence: 43 paid, $2.4M.
Is Broad Creek at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (92%), and Broad Creek’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Broad Creek.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Broad Creek’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.