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Cape Lookout Village Historic DistrictCape Lookout Village Historic District · Photo: Jarek Tuszyński · CC BY 3.0
D−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Harkers Island · FEMA

FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Harkers Island than almost anywhere in the U.S., mostly from hurricanes

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Harkers Island gets a D− for hazard risk: among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (88%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

Hurricanes 88%River and rain flooding 5%Coastal flooding 5%

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

among the highestof U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
D−
in North Carolina · among the highest of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Hurricanes
88% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
3
of 20 declared for Carteret County

What stands out about Harkers Island’s natural hazards

From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.

Coastal flooding: the top 1% of U.S. tractsFEMA’s building-damage rate for coastal flooding here ranks in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts; it is 5.3% of the damage it expects.Moved out of harm’s way1 home raised above flood level with FEMA grants.
By hazard

What Harkers Island faces

Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.

Hurricanes

88%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

River and rain flooding

5%of expected building damage
Well below average · lower than 94% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area

Coastal flooding

5%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Ice storms Strong wind Wildfire Winter storms Lightning Hail Earthquakes Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Harkers Island’s grade

Hurricanes are 88% of the building damage FEMA expects in Harkers Island, and Harkers Island’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 5%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Harkers Island sits
Harkers Island
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D− among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Harkers Island’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
Hurricanes88%River and rain flooding5%Coastal flooding5%Everything else1%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.3M a year in losses across Harkers Island: $2.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Recent disaster.FEMA’s model looks at expected damage to the buildings standing today. After Hurricane Florence in 2018, FEMA took 186 aid registrations from Harkers Island addresses (the town has 1,170 homes).
Shared tract.All of Harkers Island’s 1,127 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Harkers Island flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Harkers Island. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Harkers Island isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Carteret County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
1home raised above flood level
Disasters

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Harkers Island

Disasters that paid out in Harkers Island itself (aid to households or repair grants to Harkers Island), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2018Hurricane Florence186 households applied for aid$152K aid approved
  2. 2011Hurricane Irene27 households applied for aid$9K aid approved
  3. 2003Hurricane Isabel46 households applied for aid$26K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Harkers IslandCarteret County only

Carteret County has had 20 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.

Were you here?

Old photos of Harkers Island after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Harkers Island archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Harkers Island faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

Hurricane season
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
When the tide surges
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Harkers Island

Is Harkers Island at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Harkers Island has among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (88%) and river and rain flooding (5%). 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 Harkers Island 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 Carteret County, 52% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 21.5% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Harkers Island?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Harkers Island’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 Harkers Island?

By FEMA money that reached Harkers Island, Hurricane Florence (2018): 186 households applied for aid, $152K approved.

Is Harkers Island at risk from hurricanes?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (88%), and Harkers Island’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Harkers Island.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Harkers Island’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.