Rutherford, NC
Rutherford County in North Carolina has 9 FEMA disaster declarations on record covering 1977–2022, most recently Hurricane Ian on Oct 1, 2022 (DR-3586). Its flood risk grade is A (Low risk), ranking #423 of 3,277 U.S. counties, with 13 NFIP flood insurance claims totaling $1,147,769 in payouts. Flood risk is relatively low compared to the national average.
FEMA Disaster Declarations in Rutherford County
The 9 most recent federally declared disasters affecting Rutherford County, NC (1977–2022). Total declarations on record: 9.
| 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 10, 2018 | Hurricane | Hurricane Florence | DR-3401 |
| 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 17 is calculated from four weighted factors. See our methodology for details.
Other Counties in North Carolina
| County | Grade | Score | Claims | Disasters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bertie | A | 17 | 24 | 18 |
| Sampson | A | 17 | 14 | 17 |
| Mecklenburg | A | 17 | 67 | 7 |
| Chowan | A | 18 | 6 | 19 |
| Columbus | A | 18 | 64 | 22 |
| Duplin | A | 18 | 58 | 19 |
More Counties in North Carolina
Frequently Asked Questions
How many FEMA disaster declarations does Rutherford County, NC have?
Rutherford County, NC has 9 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 10, 2018, DR-3401); Hurricane Katrina Evacuation (declared Sep 5, 2005, DR-3222). Counts include flood, severe storm, hurricane, and coastal storm declarations from the OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries dataset.
What is the flood risk grade for Rutherford County, NC?
Rutherford County is graded A (composite score 17/100, low risk). It ranks #423 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 Rutherford County?
13 NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Rutherford County, NC, totaling $1,147,769 in payouts. The average claim is $88,290. Source: FEMA FimaNfipClaims v2 dataset.
Has Rutherford County, NC had any recent flood disasters?
Yes. The most recent FEMA declaration affecting Rutherford County was Hurricane Ian on Oct 1, 2022 (DR-3586). The county has 9 declared disasters in the OpenFEMA record covering 1977–2022.
The this entity record above pulls directly from FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims. What follows is the per-entity context — how this entity sits in the broader U.S. flood risk, NFIP claims, and disaster declarations distribution and which underlying factors drive the headline numbers.
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.
For readers using this page as a decision input, the related-entity pages elsewhere on the site provide the comparison set. The most useful comparison for this entity is typically a peer within U.S. ZIPs, counties, and states with similar size, similar exposure, or similar geography — not the national-level summary alone.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA datasets, 2026.