Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Connelly Springs faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Connelly Springs gets a B− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (80%). 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 Connelly Springs 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
Tornadoes
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 Connelly Springs’ grade
River and rain flooding is 80% of the building damage FEMA expects in Connelly Springs, and Connelly Springs’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 66% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 4%, at a rate in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
B− lower expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Connelly Springs’ residents live in 3 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $322K a year in losses across Connelly Springs: $244K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Connelly Springs flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Connelly Springs. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Connelly Springs isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Burke County.2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Connelly Springs
Disasters that paid out in Connelly Springs itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Connelly Springs), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Tropical Storm Helene1,160 households applied for aid$1.3M aid approved
- 2002Severe Ice Storm$2K to the Town of Connelly Springs for repairs
Burke County has had 19 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 Burke County, 2016–2016.
Old photos of Connelly Springs after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Connelly Springs archive →Connelly Springs and its neighbors
Connelly Springs is 2nd of the 2 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rutherford College | A−less damage than 83% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Connelly Springs | B−less damage than 50% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Connelly Springs 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.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- 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 Connelly Springs
Is Connelly Springs at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Connelly Springs has lower expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (80%) and tornadoes (8%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Connelly Springs 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 Burke County, 40% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Connelly Springs?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Connelly Springs’ 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 Connelly Springs?
By FEMA money that reached Connelly Springs, Tropical Storm Helene (2024): 1,160 households applied for aid, $1.3M approved.
Is Connelly Springs at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (80%), and Connelly Springs’ rate for it is higher than 66% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Connelly Springs.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Connelly Springs’ 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.