Mingus Mill · Photo: David Dugan · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Cherokee than in 85% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Cherokee gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 85% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%). 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 stands out about Cherokee’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Cherokee faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
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 Cherokee’s grade
River and rain flooding is 88% of the building damage FEMA expects in Cherokee, and Cherokee’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 2%, at a rate in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 85% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Cherokee’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.4M a year in losses across Cherokee: $961K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Cherokee flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Cherokee. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Cherokee isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Swain County.2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Cherokee
Disasters that paid out in Cherokee itself (aid to households or repair grants to Cherokee), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Tropical Storm Helene271 households applied for aid$397K aid approved
- 2004Hurricane Ivan6 households applied for aid$3K aid approved
Swain County has had 11 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 2 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Swain County, 2025–2025.
Old photos of Cherokee after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Cherokee archive →Get ready for what Cherokee faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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 Cherokee
Is Cherokee at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Cherokee has higher expected damage per building than 85% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Cherokee 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 Swain County, 11% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.9% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Cherokee?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Cherokee’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 Cherokee?
By FEMA money that reached Cherokee, Tropical Storm Helene (2024): 271 households applied for aid, $397K approved.
Is Cherokee at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (88%), and Cherokee’s rate for it is in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Cherokee.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Cherokee’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.