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Editorial

Most disaster-prone counties in North Carolina

North Carolina has 2,403 county-level FEMA disaster declarations across 100 counties. The dominant hazard type is hurricane. Brunswick County leads with 35 declarations, followed by Beaufort County and Craven County.

This ranking shows every county in North Carolina ordered by how many times FEMA has issued a disaster declaration affecting it. Counties near coastlines, river systems, or wildfire corridors tend to appear at the top because the same geographic exposure produces recurring events across decades.

Each county links to a full disaster history page with the complete declaration timeline, hazard type breakdown, decade trends, and whatever FEMA spending data is available. For a national view, see the most disaster-prone counties in America page.

North Carolina ranking

All counties by FEMA declaration count

#CountyDeclarationsTop hazardFirst yearLatest year
1Brunswick County35Hurricane19842026
2Beaufort County32Hurricane19682026
3Craven County32Hurricane19682026
4Hyde County32Hurricane19882026
5New Hanover County32Hurricane19842026
6Dare County31Hurricane19882026
7Pender County31Hurricane19842026
8Carteret County30Hurricane19932026
9Onslow County30Hurricane19962026
10Pamlico County30Hurricane19882026
11Pitt County30Hurricane19682026
12Columbus County29Hurricane19772026
13Davidson County29Hurricane19772026
14Lenoir County29Hurricane19682026
15Bertie County28Hurricane19682026
16Guilford County28Hurricane19772026
17Hertford County28Hurricane19682026
18Nash County28Hurricane19682026
19Wayne County28Hurricane19682026
20Wilson County28Hurricane19682026
21Alamance County27Hurricane19772026
22Bladen County27Hurricane19772026
23Edgecombe County27Hurricane19682026
24Greene County27Hurricane19682026
25Johnston County27Hurricane19682026
26Jones County27Hurricane19962026
27Person County27Hurricane19772026
28Ashe County26Hurricane19732026
29Chowan County26Hurricane19682026
30Duplin County26Hurricane19842026
31Granville County26Hurricane19772026
32Halifax County26Hurricane19882026
33Orange County26Hurricane19772026
34Wake County26Hurricane19682026
35Caswell County25Hurricane19772026
36Durham County25Hurricane19772026
37Forsyth County25Hurricane19772026
38Northampton County25Hurricane19882026
39Rockingham County25Hurricane19772026
40Sampson County25Hurricane19842026
41Stokes County25Hurricane19772026
42Tyrrell County25Hurricane19982026
43Burke County24Hurricane19742026
44Currituck County24Hurricane19882026
45Montgomery County24Hurricane19772026
46Perquimans County24Hurricane19682026
47Randolph County24Hurricane19772026
48Robeson County24Hurricane19842026
49Warren County24Hurricane19772026
50Washington County24Hurricane19682026
51Watauga County24Hurricane19732026
52Caldwell County23Hurricane19742026
53Camden County23Hurricane19962026
54Cumberland County23Hurricane19842026
55Franklin County23Hurricane19772026
56Harnett County23Hurricane19682026
57Iredell County23Hurricane19732026
58Lee County23Hurricane19682026
59Madison County23Hurricane19772026
60Martin County23Hurricane19682026
61Moore County23Hurricane19682026
62Pasquotank County23Hurricane19682026
63Polk County23Hurricane19772026
64Vance County23Hurricane19772026
65Yancey County23Hurricane19772026
66Anson County22Hurricane19772026
67Avery County22Hurricane19772026
68Chatham County22Hurricane19772026
69Davie County22Hurricane19772026
70Gates County22Hurricane19842026
71Rutherford County22Hurricane19772026
72Wilkes County22Hurricane19772026
73Buncombe County21Hurricane19732026
74Catawba County21Hurricane19772026
75Haywood County21Hurricane19732026
76Lincoln County21Hurricane19742026
77McDowell County21Hurricane19732026
78Mitchell County21Hurricane19772026
79Rowan County21Hurricane19772026
80Stanly County21Hurricane19772026
81Union County21Hurricane19772026
82Yadkin County21Hurricane19772026
83Alleghany County20Hurricane19892026
84Cleveland County20Hurricane19772026
85Gaston County20Hurricane19742026
86Hoke County20Hurricane19962026
87Richmond County20Hurricane19772026
88Surry County20Hurricane19772026
89Alexander County19Hurricane19772026
90Cabarrus County19Hurricane19772026
91Jackson County19Hurricane19732026
92Scotland County19Hurricane19842026
93Henderson County18Hurricane19772026
94Mecklenburg County18Hurricane19772026
95Transylvania County18Hurricane19932026
96Graham County17Hurricane19742026
97Macon County17Hurricane19732026
98Swain County17Hurricane19932026
99Cherokee County16Hurricane19742026
100Clay County13Hurricane19732026