Reed Gold Mine · Photo: Bang-Ning Hsu from Durham (NC, USA), Taiwan · CC BY-SA 2.0On FEMA’s figures, Locust 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, Locust gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns, #118 of 290 in North Carolina. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (76%). 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 Locust 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
Hurricanes
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 Locust’s grade
River and rain flooding is 76% of the building damage FEMA expects in Locust, and Locust’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 57% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 4%, at a rate in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
B #118 of 290 in North Carolina; lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Locust’s residents live in 5 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, Locust has less expected damage per building than 60% of North Carolina towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.3M a year in losses across Locust: $1.0M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Locust flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Locust. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Locust isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Stanly County.4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Locust
Disasters that paid out in Locust itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Locust), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Tropical Storm Helene16 households applied for aid$1K aid approved
- 2002Severe Ice Storm$21K to the City of Locust for repairs
- 2000Severe Winter Storm$35K to the City of Locust for repairs
- 1999Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations$2K to the City of Locust for repairs
Stanly County has had 16 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.
Old photos of Locust after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Locust archive →Locust and its neighbors
Locust has the lowest expected damage per building of the 3 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
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 Locust 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.
- 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.
- 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 Locust
Is Locust at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Locust has lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk, #118 of 290 in North Carolina. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (76%) and tornadoes (8%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Locust 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 Stanly County, 31% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Locust?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Locust’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 Locust?
By FEMA money that reached Locust, Severe Winter Storm (2000): $35K to the City of Locust for repairs.
Is Locust at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (76%), and Locust’s rate for it is higher than 57% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Locust.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Locust’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.