FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Sea Breeze than in 96% of U.S. towns, mostly from hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Sea Breeze gets a D− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (76%), then river and rain flooding (14%). 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 Sea Breeze 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
Coastal 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 Sea Breeze’s grade
Hurricanes are 76% of the building damage FEMA expects in Sea Breeze, and Sea Breeze’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 7%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
D− higher expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Sea Breeze’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.1M a year in losses across Sea Breeze: $1.7M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Sea Breeze flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Sea Breeze. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Sea Breeze isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: New Hanover County.The storms Sea Breeze remembers
None of the 23 disasters declared for New Hanover County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Sea Breeze itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
New Hanover County has had 23 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.
Sea Breeze and its neighbors
Sea Breeze 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sea Breeze | D−more damage than 96% | hurricanes | 0 |
| Myrtle Grove | D−more damage than 97% | hurricanes | 217 |
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 Sea Breeze 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.
- Know your evacuation zone and the way off the coast.
- Storm surge comes fast: leave when you’re told, not when the water arrives.
- Move cars to high ground before king tides and nor’easters.
- 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 Sea Breeze
Is Sea Breeze at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Sea Breeze has higher expected damage per building than 96% of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (76%) and river and rain flooding (14%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Sea Breeze 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 New Hanover County, 75% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 14.7% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Sea Breeze?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Sea Breeze’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Sea Breeze at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (76%), and Sea Breeze’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Sea Breeze.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Sea Breeze’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.