Polk, NC
Polk County in North Carolina has 11 FEMA disaster declarations on record covering 1977–2022, most recently Hurricane Ian on Oct 1, 2022 (DR-3586). Its flood risk grade is B (Moderate risk), ranking #149 of 3,277 U.S. counties, with 11 NFIP flood insurance claims totaling $977,270 in payouts. Flood risk is relatively low compared to the national average.
FEMA Disaster Declarations in Polk County
The 11 most recent federally declared disasters affecting Polk County, NC (1977–2022). Total declarations on record: 11.
| Declared | Incident Type | Title | FEMA Disaster # |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2022 | Hurricane | Hurricane Ian | DR-3586 |
| Aug 2, 2020 | Hurricane | Hurricane Isaias | DR-3534 |
| Sep 3, 2019 | Hurricane | Hurricane Dorian | DR-3423 |
| Sep 14, 2018 | Hurricane | Hurricane Florence | DR-4393 |
| Sep 10, 2018 | Hurricane | Hurricane Florence | DR-3401 |
| Sep 25, 2013 | Flood | Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | DR-4146 |
| Sep 5, 2005 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | DR-3222 |
| Sep 18, 2004 | Hurricane | Hurricane Ivan | DR-1553 |
| Sep 10, 2004 | Hurricane | Tropical Storm Frances | DR-1546 |
| Sep 6, 1996 | Hurricane | Hurricane Fran | DR-1134 |
| Nov 9, 1977 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | DR-542 |
Score Breakdown
The composite score of 21 is calculated from four weighted factors. See our methodology for details.
Other Counties in North Carolina
| County | Grade | Score | Claims | Disasters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haywood | B | 21 | 63 | 11 |
| Pamlico | B | 21 | 221 | 23 |
| Buncombe | B | 22 | 108 | 12 |
| Alamance | B | 22 | 11 | 12 |
| Orange | B | 22 | 50 | 12 |
| Guilford | B | 22 | 34 | 12 |
More Counties in North Carolina
Frequently Asked Questions
How many FEMA disaster declarations does Polk County, NC have?
Polk County, NC has 11 federal disaster declarations on FEMA record (1977–2022). The 5 most recent are: Hurricane Ian (declared Oct 1, 2022, DR-3586); Hurricane Isaias (declared Aug 2, 2020, DR-3534); Hurricane Dorian (declared Sep 3, 2019, DR-3423); Hurricane Florence (declared Sep 14, 2018, DR-4393); Hurricane Florence (declared Sep 10, 2018, DR-3401). Counts include flood, severe storm, hurricane, and coastal storm declarations from the OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries dataset.
What is the flood risk grade for Polk County, NC?
Polk County is graded B (composite score 21/100, moderate risk). It ranks #149 of 3,277 U.S. counties for flood risk in our scoring model. The grade combines NFIP claims density (40%), disaster frequency (25%), claim severity (20%), and year-over-year trend (15%).
How many NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Polk County?
11 NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Polk County, NC, totaling $977,270 in payouts. The average claim is $88,843. Source: FEMA FimaNfipClaims v2 dataset.
Has Polk County, NC had any recent flood disasters?
Yes. The most recent FEMA declaration affecting Polk County was Hurricane Ian on Oct 1, 2022 (DR-3586). The county has 11 declared disasters in the OpenFEMA record covering 1977–2022.
For this entity, the underlying data on this page comes from FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims. The breakdown above is the federal record; the paragraphs below add the per-entity context that makes the headline numbers usable for a real decision rather than just a data lookup.
Every number on this page links back to FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims; the methodology page describes the inputs, refresh cadence, and known limitations of the underlying data product.
Practical use of this page is in combination with the comparison and ranking pages elsewhere on the site, which surface the same data for this entity’s peers within U.S. ZIPs, counties, and states. A single-entity reading without peer context can be misleading when an entity is an outlier on one axis but typical on another.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA datasets, 2026.