Photo: Jud McCranie · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Gifford
Gifford isn’t graded for hazard risk: Gifford has 268 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Gifford 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
Earthquakes
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 Gifford flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Gifford. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Gifford isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Hampton County.2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Gifford
Disasters that paid out in Gifford itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Gifford), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Hurricane Helene75 households applied for aid$67K aid approved
- 2016Hurricane Matthew14 households applied for aid$3K aid approved
Hampton County has had 16 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 Gifford after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Gifford archive →Get ready for what Gifford 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Gifford
Is Gifford 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 Hampton County, 19% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Gifford?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Gifford’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 Gifford?
By FEMA money that reached Gifford, Hurricane Helene (2024): 75 households applied for aid, $67K approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Gifford.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Gifford’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.