Photo: Jason W. Smith · CC BY-SA 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Fair Bluff
Fair Bluff isn’t graded for hazard risk: Fair Bluff has 695 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 62 claims here since 1999.
What Fair Bluff 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
Strong wind
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 Fair Bluff flood? Sometimes: 62 flood claims since 1999
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Fair Bluff, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Florence43 claims · $2.4M
- Hurricane Matthew13 claims · $1.1M
- Hurricane Floyd3 claims · $25K
Fair Bluff isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Columbus County.7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Fair Bluff
Disasters that paid out in Fair Bluff itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Fair Bluff), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Tropical Storm Helene2 households applied for aid$300 aid approved1 flood claim paid that year
- 2018Hurricane Florence209 households applied for aid$335K aid approved$58K to the Town of Fair Bluff for repairs43 flood claims paid for it, $2.4M
- 2016Hurricane Matthew480 households applied for aid$1.9M aid approved$282K to the Town of Fair Bluff for repairs13 flood claims paid for it, $1.1M
- 2011Hurricane Irene48 households applied for aid$9K aid approved
- 2004Tropical Storm Frances125 households applied for aid$149K aid approved
- 2003Hurricane Isabel129 households applied for aid$56K aid approved
Show all 7
- 1999Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations$125K to the Town of Fair Bluff for repairs3 flood claims paid for it, $25K
Columbus County has had 21 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 Fair Bluff after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Fair Bluff archive →Get ready for what Fair Bluff 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.
- Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
- Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
- Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
- 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 Fair Bluff
Does Fair Bluff flood?
Flood insurance has paid 62 claims in Fair Bluff since 1999, $3.6M in all. 10 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Florence (43).
Is Fair Bluff 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 Columbus County, 33% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 2.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Fair Bluff?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Fair Bluff’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 Fair Bluff?
By FEMA money that reached Fair Bluff, Hurricane Matthew (2016): 480 households applied for aid, $1.9M approved, and $282K to the Town of Fair Bluff for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Florence: 43 paid, $2.4M.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Fair Bluff.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Fair Bluff’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.