Jarvisburg Colored School · Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ. M.D. · CC BY-SA 4.0For coastal flooding, Grandy’s building-damage rate is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Grandy gets a B− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 52% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (44%), then hurricanes (40%). 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 Grandy’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Grandy 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
Coastal 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 Grandy’s grade
River and rain flooding is 44% of the building damage FEMA expects in Grandy, and Grandy’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 78% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 10%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
B− lower expected damage per building than 52% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Grandy’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $832K a year in losses across Grandy: $630K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Grandy flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Grandy. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Grandy isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Currituck County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Grandy
Disasters that paid out in Grandy itself (aid to households or repair grants to Grandy), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2016Hurricane Matthew38 households applied for aid$38K aid approved
- 2011Hurricane Irene100 households applied for aid$160K aid approved
- 2003Hurricane Isabel87 households applied for aid$44K aid approved
Currituck County has had 18 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.
Old photos of Grandy after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Grandy archive →Get ready for what Grandy 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.
- Know your evacuation zone and the way off the coast.
- Storm surge comes fast: leave when you’re told, not when the water arrives.
- Move cars to high ground before king tides and nor’easters.
- 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 Grandy
Is Grandy at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Grandy has lower expected damage per building than 52% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (44%) and hurricanes (40%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Grandy 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 Currituck County, 59% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 19.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Grandy?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Grandy’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 Grandy?
By FEMA money that reached Grandy, Hurricane Irene (2011): 100 households applied for aid, $160K approved.
Is Grandy at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (44%), and Grandy’s rate for it is lower than 78% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Grandy.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Grandy’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.