On FEMA’s figures, Pleasant Garden faces less hazard damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Pleasant Garden gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns, #87 of 290 in North Carolina. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (85%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2018.
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 Pleasant Garden 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
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 Pleasant Garden’s grade
River and rain flooding is 85% of the building damage FEMA expects in Pleasant Garden, and Pleasant Garden’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 60% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 6% (higher than 70% of U.S. census tracts).
B #87 of 290 in North Carolina; lower expected damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Pleasant Garden’s residents live in 2 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, Pleasant Garden has less expected damage per building than 70% of North Carolina towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.0M a year in losses across Pleasant Garden: $876K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Pleasant Garden flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 2018
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Pleasant Garden, from FEMA’s records: 0.5 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 89% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- Hurricane Florence1 claim · $20K
Pleasant Garden isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Guilford County.The storms Pleasant Garden remembers
None of the 24 disasters declared for Guilford County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Pleasant Garden itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 20181 flood claims paidThe year of Hurricane Florence, declared for Guilford County
Guilford County has had 24 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 Pleasant Garden after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Pleasant Garden archive →Get ready for what Pleasant Garden 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.
- 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 Pleasant Garden
Is Pleasant Garden at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Pleasant Garden has lower expected damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk, #87 of 290 in North Carolina. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (85%) and hurricanes (6%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Pleasant Garden flood?
Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Pleasant Garden since 2018, $20K in all, or 0.5 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 89% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Florence (1).
Is Pleasant Garden 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 Guilford County, 40% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Pleasant Garden?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Pleasant Garden’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 Pleasant Garden?
By flood claims, Hurricane Florence: 1 paid, $20K.
Is Pleasant Garden at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (85%), and Pleasant Garden’s rate for it is higher than 60% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Pleasant Garden.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Pleasant Garden’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.