FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Pumpkin Center than almost anywhere in the U.S., mostly from hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Pumpkin Center gets a D− for hazard risk: among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (86%), then river and rain flooding (12%). 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 Pumpkin Center 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
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 Pumpkin Center’s grade
Hurricanes are 86% of the building damage FEMA expects in Pumpkin Center, and Pumpkin Center’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 12% (lower than 62% of U.S. census tracts).
D− among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Pumpkin Center’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.4M a year in losses across Pumpkin Center: $2.1M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Pumpkin Center flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Pumpkin Center. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Pumpkin Center isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Onslow County.The storms Pumpkin Center remembers
None of the 21 disasters declared for Onslow County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Pumpkin Center itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Onslow County has had 21 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.
Pumpkin Center and its neighbors
Pumpkin Center is 2nd of the 2 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville | D−among the highest damage | hurricanes | 222 |
| Pumpkin Center | D−among the highest damage | hurricanes | 0 |
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 Pumpkin Center 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.
- 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 Pumpkin Center
Is Pumpkin Center at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Pumpkin Center has among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (86%) and river and rain flooding (12%). 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 Pumpkin Center 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 Onslow County, 73% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 6.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Pumpkin Center?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Pumpkin Center’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Pumpkin Center at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (86%), and Pumpkin Center’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Pumpkin Center.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Pumpkin Center’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.