Gilboa Methodist Church · Photo: Upstateherd · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA expects about as much hazard damage per building in Salem as in the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Salem gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 57% 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 Salem 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 Salem’s grade
River and rain flooding is 79% of the building damage FEMA expects in Salem, and Salem’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 60% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 4%, at a rate in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
B lower expected damage per building than 57% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Salem’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $560K a year in losses across Salem: $442K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Salem flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Salem. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Salem isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Burke County.The storms Salem remembers
None of the 19 disasters declared for Burke County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Salem itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Burke County has had 19 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.
Also 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Burke County, 2016–2016.
Salem and its neighbors
Salem 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salem | Bless damage than 57% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Morganton | B−less damage than 52% | river and rain flooding | 50 |
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 Salem 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 Salem
Is Salem at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Salem has lower expected damage per building than 57% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (79%) and tornadoes (9%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Salem 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 Burke County, 40% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Salem?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Salem’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Salem at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (79%), and Salem’s rate for it is higher than 60% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Salem.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Salem’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.