Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Gooday.1~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims). · Public domainOn FEMA’s figures, Midway 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, Midway gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 60% of U.S. towns, #100 of 290 in North Carolina. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (79%). 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 Midway 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 Midway’s grade
River and rain flooding is 79% of the building damage FEMA expects in Midway, and Midway’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 58% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 3%, at a rate in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.
B #100 of 290 in North Carolina; lower expected damage per building than 60% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Midway’s residents live in 4 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, Midway has less expected damage per building than 66% of North Carolina towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.9M a year in losses across Midway: $1.6M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Midway flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Midway. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Midway isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Davidson County.The storms Midway remembers
None of the 25 disasters declared for Davidson County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Midway itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Davidson 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.
Midway and its neighbors
Midway has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midway | Bless damage than 60% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Winston-Salem | B−less damage than 53% | river and rain flooding | 250 |
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 Midway 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 Midway
Is Midway at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Midway has lower expected damage per building than 60% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk, #100 of 290 in North Carolina. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (79%) and tornadoes (7%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Midway 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 Davidson County, 33% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Midway?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Midway’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Midway at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (79%), and Midway’s rate for it is higher than 58% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Midway.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Midway’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.