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BHazard risk
Natural hazards in Biltmore · FEMA

FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Biltmore than in 63% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Biltmore gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (89%). Flood insurance has paid 7 claims here since 1998.

River and rain flooding 89%Earthquakes 6%Tornadoes 2%

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

less than 63%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
B
in Tennessee · lower than 63% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
89% of expected building damage
Flood claims
7
paid since 1998 · $47K
Flood claims per home
8 per 1,000
more than 69% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Biltmore 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

89%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area

Earthquakes

6%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Strong wind Hurricanes Hail Wildfire Ice storms Landslides top 4% Lightning Winter storms Cold waves Heat waves
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Biltmore’s grade

River and rain flooding is 89% of the building damage FEMA expects in Biltmore, and Biltmore’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 63% of U.S. census tracts. Next is earthquakes at 6% (higher than 64% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Biltmore sits
Biltmore
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B lower expected damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Biltmore’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding89%Earthquakes6%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $480K a year in losses across Biltmore: $346K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Biltmore’s 1,837 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Biltmore flood? Rarely: 7 flood claims since 1998

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Biltmore, from FEMA’s records: 7.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 69% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1998: 1 claim1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 1 claim2002: 0 claims2003: 1 claim2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 1 claim2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 1 claim2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 1 claim2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 1 claim2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims199820012003
19982026
7
paid claims since 1998
$47K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$7K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Biltmore isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Carter County.
Disasters

The storms Biltmore remembers

None of the 13 disasters declared for Carter County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Biltmore itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 19981 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for Carter County
  2. 20011 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for Carter County
  3. 20031 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for Carter County
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in BiltmoreCarter County only

Carter County has had 13 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

Old photos of Biltmore after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Biltmore archive →
Next door

Biltmore and its neighbors

Biltmore has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Elizabethton: hazard risk B−ElizabethtonBiltmore
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
BiltmoreBless damage than 63%river and rain flooding7
ElizabethtonB−less damage than 51%river and rain flooding65

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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Biltmore faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Earthquakes
  • Drop, cover and hold on.
  • Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
  • Know how to shut off the gas.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Biltmore

Is Biltmore at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Biltmore has lower expected damage per building than 63% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (89%) and earthquakes (6%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Does Biltmore flood?

Flood insurance has paid 7 claims in Biltmore since 1998, $47K in all, or 7.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 69% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Biltmore 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 Carter County, 20% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.4% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Biltmore?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Biltmore’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

Is Biltmore at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (89%), and Biltmore’s rate for it is higher than 63% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Biltmore.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Biltmore’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.