Photo: IraEskins · CC BY-SA 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Holden Beach
Holden Beach isn’t graded for hazard risk: Holden Beach has 962 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 1,310 claims here since 1979.
What Holden Beach faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
Coastal flooding
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.
Does Holden Beach flood? Yes: 1,310 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Holden Beach, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Hugo434 claims · $4.4M
- Hurricane Floyd245 claims · $2.8M
- Hurricane Isaias83 claims · $1.2M
Holden Beach is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 6) for its flood-proofing work.
Insurance rates: Brunswick County.10 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Holden Beach
Disasters that paid out in Holden Beach itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Holden Beach), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2020Hurricane Isaias$2.2M to the Town of Holden Beach for repairs83 flood claims paid for it, $1.2M
- 2019Hurricane Dorian$5.4M to the Town of Holden Beach for repairs
- 2018Tropical Storm Michael$4.0M to the Town of Holden Beach for repairs
- 2018Hurricane Florence16 households applied for aid$12K aid approved$6.8M to the Town of Holden Beach for repairs
- 2016Hurricane Matthew7 households applied for aid$11K aid approved$2.4M to the Town of Holden Beach for repairs47 flood claims paid for it, $954K
- 2011Hurricane Irene$652K to the Town of Holden Beach for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
Show all 10
- 2008Tropical Storm Hanna$1.8M to the Town of Holden Beach for repairs
- 2005Hurricane Ophelia$11K to the Town of Holden Beach for repairs7 flood claims paid that year
- 1999Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations$317K to the Town of Holden Beach for repairs245 flood claims paid for it, $2.8M
- 1999Hurricane Dennis$6K to the Town of Holden Beach for repairs
Brunswick County has had 25 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.
Also 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Brunswick County, 2025–2025.
Old photos of Holden Beach after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Holden Beach archive →Get ready for what Holden Beach 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Holden Beach residents get 20% off flood insurance.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Holden Beach
Does Holden Beach flood?
Flood insurance has paid 1,310 claims in Holden Beach since 1979, $14.3M in all. 255 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Hugo (434).
Is Holden Beach 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 Brunswick County, 78% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 21.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Holden Beach?
Holden Beach is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 6), which takes 20% off federal flood insurance policies for its flood-proofing work. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Holden Beach?
By FEMA money that reached Holden Beach, Hurricane Florence (2018): 16 households applied for aid, $12K approved, and $6.8M to the Town of Holden Beach for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Hugo: 434 paid, $4.4M.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Holden Beach.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Holden Beach’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.