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Page Coal and Coke Company StorePage Coal and Coke Company Store · Photo: Coal town guy · CC BY-SA 3.0
–Not graded
Natural hazards in Pageton · FEMA

Storms, floods and disasters in Pageton

Pageton isn’t graded for hazard risk: FEMA’s tract figures aren’t matched to Pageton yet.

Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
6
of 22 declared for McDowell County
By hazard

What Pageton 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

98%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Strong wind Hurricanes Hail Tornadoes Wildfire Winter storms Ice storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides top 4% Lightning Avalanches top 1%
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 20% of Pageton’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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.
Flood insurance claims

Does Pageton flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Pageton. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: McDowell County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
8flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Pageton

Disasters that paid out in Pageton itself (aid to households or repair grants to Pageton), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2025Severe Storm, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides14 households applied for aid$139K aid approved
  2. 2010Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides9 households applied for aid$34K aid approved
  3. 2009Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides1 households applied for aid$15K aid approved
  4. 2004Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides3 households applied for aid$635 aid approved
  5. 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides12 households applied for aid$22K aid approved
  6. 2003Severe Winter Storm, Record/near Record Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and Landslides3 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in PagetonMcDowell County only

McDowell County has had 22 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.

Also 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in McDowell County, 2001–2001.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Pageton archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Pageton 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 ↗
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 Pageton

Is Pageton 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 McDowell County, 19% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 4.6% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Pageton?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Pageton’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 Pageton?

By FEMA money that reached Pageton, Severe Storm, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2025): 14 households applied for aid, $139K approved.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Pageton.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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