Natural disaster risk in Wake County, North Carolina
North Carolina · population 1,128,357 · FIPS 37183
Overall: relatively high risk
Wake County has a composite risk score of 95.5 out of 100 — higher than 95% of US counties. It ranks 4 of 100 in North Carolina (1 = highest risk). Its highest-rated hazards are hail, inland (riverine) flooding, heat wave.
Drought now: Yes: D2 Severe Drought, 5 weeks
Yes. On the U.S. Drought Monitor map valid 13 October 2026, 99.47% of Wake County is in D2 Severe Drought. Some of it has been at D2 or worse for 5 weeks in a row. In all, 100% of the county is in drought (D1 to D4).
Drought in Wake County: the last 52 weeks · droughtmonitor.unl.edu
The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Map courtesy of NDMC.
Risk, loss, vulnerability and resilience
| Measure | Rating and score |
|---|---|
| Overall risk Expected annual loss, adjusted for social vulnerability and community resilience. |
Relatively high 95.5 |
| Expected annual loss About $299.1 million a year, on average, across all 18 hazards. |
Relatively high 97.7 |
| Social vulnerability Higher means people may find it harder to prepare and recover. |
Very low 10.6 |
| Community resilience Higher means a stronger ability to prepare, adapt and recover. |
Very high 87.1 |
Risk by hazard
FEMA's risk rating for each of 18 natural hazards in Wake County, highest first. "Not applicable" means the hazard is not modelled here.
| Hazard | Risk rating and score |
|---|---|
| Hail | Relatively high 98 |
| Inland (riverine) flooding | Relatively high 97 |
| Heat wave | Relatively high 96 |
| Tornado | Relatively high 95 |
| Lightning | Relatively high 91 |
| Ice storm | Relatively high 90 |
| Hurricane | Relatively moderate 89 |
| Winter weather | Relatively moderate 84 |
| Cold wave | Relatively moderate 82 |
| Earthquake | Relatively low 87 |
| Landslide | Relatively low 71 |
| Drought | Relatively low 51 |
| Strong wind | Relatively low 49 |
| Wildfire | Very low 57 |
| Avalanche | Not applicable |
| Coastal flooding | Not applicable |
| Tsunami | Not applicable |
| Volcanic activity | Not applicable |
FEMA disaster declarations for Wake County
Federal declarations that designated Wake County, since 1 Jan 2024 (the period this site keeps from OpenFEMA). Older declarations are in FEMA's own dataset.
Yes. Wake County has been named in 3 FEMA declarations since 1 Jan 2024. The latest is EM-3637-NC (Severe Winter Storm), declared 24 Jan 2026.
| Declaration | Kind | Incident | Declared | Individual assistance here |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EM-3637-NC | Emergency | Severe Winter Storm | 24 Jan 2026 | No |
| EM-3617-NC | Emergency | Hurricane Helene | 26 Sep 2024 | No |
| EM-3608-NC | Emergency | Tropical Storm Debby | 6 Aug 2024 | No |
All FEMA declarations in North Carolina, with estimated apply-by dates · Open FEMA deadlines
This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s). Dataset: Disaster Declarations Summaries - v2.
How to read these ratings
- Ratings run in five steps: very low, relatively low, relatively moderate, relatively high and very high. They compare a county with every other US county; they are not a measure of danger on their own.
- Scores run from 0 to 100 and are national percentiles. The bar shows the score: a score of 80 means a higher value than 80% of US counties.
- Overall risk combines the expected annual loss with social vulnerability and community resilience.
- Expected annual loss is the average yearly loss to buildings, people and agriculture the model expects from all 18 hazards.
- Social vulnerability describes how hard it may be for people to prepare for and recover from a disaster. Higher is worse.
- Community resilience describes a community's ability to prepare, adapt and recover. Higher is better.
- "Not applicable" means FEMA does not model that hazard there (for example, hurricanes far inland).
About this data
Source: FEMA National Risk Index, version 1.20, released December 2025, published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (US public domain). About the National Risk Index. The index is a model of relative risk built from historical hazard records, what is exposed and community factors. It is not a forecast, it does not describe any single property, and it is not insurance or financial advice. For decisions about a specific address, check FEMA's flood maps and your local emergency management office.
Questions
What is the natural disaster risk in Wake County, North Carolina?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates the overall risk in Wake County as relatively high, with a score of 95.5 out of 100 (higher than 95% of US counties). That is a comparison with other US counties, not a forecast.
What are the biggest natural hazards in Wake County?
The hazards rated highest for Wake County are hail (relatively high), inland (riverine) flooding (relatively high), heat wave (relatively high).
What is the flood risk in Wake County?
FEMA rates inland (river and rain) flooding risk in Wake County as relatively high. For a specific property, check the FEMA flood map and your local floodplain office.
Has Wake County had a FEMA disaster declaration?
Yes. Wake County has been named in 3 FEMA declarations since 1 Jan 2024. The latest is EM-3637-NC (Severe Winter Storm), declared 24 Jan 2026.
Is Wake County in a drought?
Yes. On the U.S. Drought Monitor map valid 13 October 2026, 99.47% of Wake County is in D2 Severe Drought. Some of it has been at D2 or worse for 5 weeks in a row. In all, 100% of the county is in drought (D1 to D4).
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