Clear Springs Plantation · Photo: NCSherrie · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Vanceboro
Vanceboro isn’t graded for hazard risk: FEMA’s tract figures aren’t matched to Vanceboro yet. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1999.
What Vanceboro 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.
Does Vanceboro flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 1999
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Vanceboro, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Floyd1 claim · $3K
Vanceboro isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Craven County.8 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Vanceboro
Disasters that paid out in Vanceboro itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Vanceboro), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2020Hurricane Isaias$20K to the Town of Vanceboro for repairs
- 2018Hurricane Florence378 households applied for aid$215K aid approved$23K to the Town of Vanceboro for repairs
- 2016Hurricane Matthew326 households applied for aid$574K aid approved$17K to the Town of Vanceboro for repairs
- 2011Hurricane Irene348 households applied for aid$314K aid approved$83K to the Town of Vanceboro for repairs
- 2011Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding4 households applied for aid$3K aid approved
- 2010Severe Storms, Flooding, and Straight-line Winds126 households applied for aid$211K aid approved
Show all 8
- 2003Hurricane Isabel55 households applied for aid$74K aid approved
- 1999Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations$33K to the Town of Vanceboro for repairs1 flood claim paid for it, $3K
Craven County has had 22 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 Vanceboro after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Vanceboro archive →Get ready for what Vanceboro 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 Vanceboro
Does Vanceboro flood?
Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Vanceboro since 1999, $3K in all. The most claims came from Hurricane Floyd (1).
Is Vanceboro 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 Craven County, 61% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 11.7% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Vanceboro?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Vanceboro’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 Vanceboro?
By FEMA money that reached Vanceboro, Hurricane Matthew (2016): 326 households applied for aid, $574K approved, and $17K to the Town of Vanceboro for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Floyd: 1 paid, $3K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Vanceboro.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Vanceboro’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.