Photo: User: (WT-shared) Haem85 at wts wikivoyage · CC BY-SA 3.0On FEMA’s figures, few U.S. towns expect more hazard damage per building than Swansboro, mostly from hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Swansboro gets a D− for hazard risk: among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns, #277 of 290 in North Carolina. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (88%). Flood insurance has paid 111 claims here since 1993.
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 stands out about Swansboro’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Swansboro 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 Swansboro’s grade
Hurricanes are 88% of the building damage FEMA expects in Swansboro, and Swansboro’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 10% (lower than 76% of U.S. census tracts).
D− #277 of 290 in North Carolina; among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns (21,298).
Swansboro’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, Swansboro has more expected damage per building than 96% of North Carolina towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $5.6M a year in losses across Swansboro: $5.1M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Swansboro flood? Yes: 111 flood claims since 1993
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Swansboro, from FEMA’s records: 60.0 per 1,000 homes, more than 94% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- Hurricane Florence24 claims · $866K
- Hurricane Fran19 claims · $686K
- Hurricane Floyd18 claims · $462K
Swansboro 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.11 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Swansboro
Disasters that paid out in Swansboro itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Swansboro), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2020Hurricane Isaias$47K to the Town of Swansboro for repairs4 flood claims paid that year
- 2019Hurricane Dorian$26K to the Town of Swansboro for repairs
- 2018Hurricane Florence1,229 households applied for aid$736K aid approved$856K to the Town of Swansboro for repairs24 flood claims paid for it, $866K
- 2016Hurricane Matthew6 households applied for aid$3K aid approved$23K to the Town of Swansboro for repairs3 flood claims paid that year
- 2011Hurricane Irene86 households applied for aid$40K aid approved$20K to the Town of Swansboro for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
- 2010Severe Storms, Flooding, and Straight-line Winds15 households applied for aid$17K aid approved3 flood claims paid that year
Show all 11
- 2005Hurricane Ophelia$29K to the Town of Swansboro for repairs9 flood claims paid for it, $296K
- 2005Hurricane Ophelia$5K to the Town of Swansboro for repairs9 flood claims paid for it, $296K
- 2003Hurricane Isabel13 households applied for aid$20K aid approved$5K to the Town of Swansboro for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
- 1999Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations$64K to the Town of Swansboro for repairs18 flood claims paid for it, $462K
- 1999Hurricane Dennis$9K to the Town of Swansboro for repairs
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.
Old photos of Swansboro after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Swansboro archive →Get ready for what Swansboro 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 Swansboro
Is Swansboro at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Swansboro has among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk, #277 of 290 in North Carolina. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (88%) and river and rain flooding (10%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Swansboro flood?
Flood insurance has paid 111 claims in Swansboro since 1993, $3.1M in all, or 60.0 per 1,000 homes, more than 94% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 17 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Florence (24).
Is Swansboro 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 Swansboro?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Swansboro’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 Swansboro?
By FEMA money that reached Swansboro, Hurricane Florence (2018): 1,229 households applied for aid, $736K approved, and $856K to the Town of Swansboro for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Florence: 24 paid, $866K.
Is Swansboro at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (88%), and Swansboro’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Swansboro.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Swansboro’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.