Rock House · Photo: MarmadukePercy · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA puts Pilot Mountain’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 82% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Pilot Mountain gets an A− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns. 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 Pilot Mountain 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 Pilot Mountain’s grade
River and rain flooding is 79% of the building damage FEMA expects in Pilot Mountain, and Pilot Mountain’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 63% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 4%, at a rate in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.
A− lower expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Pilot Mountain’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $511K a year in losses across Pilot Mountain: $319K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Pilot Mountain flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Pilot Mountain. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Pilot Mountain isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Surry County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Pilot Mountain
Disasters that paid out in Pilot Mountain itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Pilot Mountain), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Tropical Storm Helene27 households applied for aid$90K aid approved
Surry 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 Pilot Mountain after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Pilot Mountain archive →Get ready for what Pilot Mountain 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 Pilot Mountain
Is Pilot Mountain at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Pilot Mountain has lower expected damage per building than 82% of U.S. towns: A− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (79%) and tornadoes (6%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Pilot Mountain 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 Surry County, 10% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Pilot Mountain?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Pilot Mountain’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 Pilot Mountain?
By FEMA money that reached Pilot Mountain, Tropical Storm Helene (2024): 27 households applied for aid, $90K approved.
Is Pilot Mountain at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (79%), and Pilot Mountain’s rate for it is lower than 63% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Pilot Mountain.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Pilot Mountain’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.