Storms, floods and disasters in Orrum
Orrum isn’t graded for hazard risk: Orrum has 56 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1994.
What Orrum faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
River and rain flooding
Earthquakes
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.
Does Orrum flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 1994
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Orrum, from FEMA’s records.
Orrum isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Robeson County.5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Orrum
Disasters that paid out in Orrum itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Orrum), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2018Hurricane Florence197 households applied for aid$189K aid approved
- 2016Hurricane Matthew358 households applied for aid$419K aid approved
- 2011Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding28 households applied for aid$5K aid approved
- 2004Tropical Storm Frances97 households applied for aid$133K aid approved
- 2003Hurricane Isabel71 households applied for aid$51K aid approved
Robeson County has had 18 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Orrum after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Orrum archive →Get ready for what Orrum 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.
- 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Orrum
Does Orrum flood?
Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Orrum since 1994, $252 in all.
Is Orrum 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 Robeson County, 24% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 2.6% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Orrum?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Orrum’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 Orrum?
By FEMA money that reached Orrum, Hurricane Matthew (2016): 358 households applied for aid, $419K approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Orrum.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Orrum’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.