Federal Building · Photo: Ceh2624 · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA expects about as much hazard damage per building in Millers Creek as in the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Millers Creek gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (85%). 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 Millers Creek 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 Millers Creek’s grade
River and rain flooding is 85% of the building damage FEMA expects in Millers Creek, and Millers Creek’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 62% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 3%, at a rate in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.
B lower expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Millers Creek’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $590K a year in losses across Millers Creek: $477K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Millers Creek flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Millers Creek. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Millers Creek isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Wilkes County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Millers Creek
Disasters that paid out in Millers Creek itself (aid to households or repair grants to Millers Creek), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Tropical Storm Helene317 households applied for aid$346K aid approved
Wilkes County has had 18 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 Millers Creek after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Millers Creek archive →Millers Creek and its neighbors
Millers Creek 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Millers Creek | Bless damage than 59% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Cricket | B−more damage than 54% | river and rain flooding | — |
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 Millers Creek 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 Millers Creek
Is Millers Creek at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Millers Creek has lower expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (85%) and tornadoes (7%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Millers Creek 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 Wilkes County, 2% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Millers Creek?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Millers Creek’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 Millers Creek?
By FEMA money that reached Millers Creek, Tropical Storm Helene (2024): 317 households applied for aid, $346K approved.
Is Millers Creek at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (85%), and Millers Creek’s rate for it is higher than 62% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Millers Creek.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Millers Creek’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.