Dortch House · Photo: Waterman, Thomas T., creator · Public domainFEMA expects about as much hazard damage per building in Dortches as in the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Dortches gets a B− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 54% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (63%), then hurricanes (21%). 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 Dortches 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
Hurricanes
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 Dortches’ grade
River and rain flooding is 63% of the building damage FEMA expects in Dortches, and Dortches’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 52% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 21% (higher than 84% of U.S. census tracts).
B− lower expected damage per building than 54% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Dortches’ residents live in 4 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $523K a year in losses across Dortches: $372K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Dortches flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Dortches. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Dortches isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Nash County.The storms Dortches remembers
None of the 22 disasters declared for Nash County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Dortches itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Nash County has had 22 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Dortches and its neighbors
Dortches has the lowest expected damage per building of the 3 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dortches | B−less damage than 54% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Red Oak | B−more damage than 52% | river and rain flooding | 5 |
| Rocky Mount | Cmore damage than 71% | river and rain flooding | 830 |
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 Dortches 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.
- 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.
- 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 Dortches
Is Dortches at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Dortches has lower expected damage per building than 54% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (63%) and hurricanes (21%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Dortches 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 Nash County, 49% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Dortches?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Dortches’ flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Dortches at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (63%), and Dortches’ rate for it is lower than 52% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Dortches.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Dortches’ 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.