Andrews-Moore House · Photo: James McGlothlin · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Lake Royale faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lake Royale gets a B− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 51% of U.S. towns, #143 of 290 in North Carolina. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (80%). 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 Lake Royale 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
Tornadoes
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 Lake Royale’s grade
River and rain flooding is 80% of the building damage FEMA expects in Lake Royale, and Lake Royale’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 65% of U.S. census tracts. Next is tornadoes at 8% (higher than 71% of U.S. census tracts).
B− #143 of 290 in North Carolina; lower expected damage per building than 51% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Lake Royale’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical North Carolina town has lower expected damage than 51% of U.S. towns; within the state, Lake Royale has less expected damage per building than 51% of North Carolina towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $819K a year in losses across Lake Royale: $485K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Lake Royale flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Lake Royale. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Lake Royale isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Franklin County.The storms Lake Royale remembers
None of the 19 disasters declared for Franklin County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Lake Royale itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Franklin 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.
Get ready for what Lake Royale 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.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- 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 Lake Royale
Is Lake Royale at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lake Royale has lower expected damage per building than 51% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk, #143 of 290 in North Carolina. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (80%) and tornadoes (8%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Lake Royale 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 Franklin County, 30% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Lake Royale?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Lake Royale’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Lake Royale at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (80%), and Lake Royale’s rate for it is higher than 65% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lake Royale.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Lake Royale’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.