FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Foscoe than in 74% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Foscoe gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). 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 Foscoe 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 Foscoe’s grade
River and rain flooding is 92% of the building damage FEMA expects in Foscoe, and Foscoe’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 87% of U.S. census tracts.
C higher expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Foscoe’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $935K a year in losses across Foscoe: $725K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Foscoe flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Foscoe. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Foscoe isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Watauga County.The storms Foscoe remembers
None of the 19 disasters declared for Watauga County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Foscoe itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Watauga 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.
Foscoe and its neighbors
Foscoe has the lowest expected damage per building of the 1 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foscoe | Cmore damage than 74% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Seven Devils | — | 425 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
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 Foscoe 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 Foscoe
Is Foscoe at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Foscoe has higher expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Foscoe 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 Watauga County, 44% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 2.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Foscoe?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Foscoe’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Foscoe at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (92%), and Foscoe’s rate for it is higher than 87% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Foscoe.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Foscoe’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.