Wilkes County Disaster Risk

Wilkes County has a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Moderate, placing it in the 83th percentile nationally out of 3,144 counties. This composite score reflects the county's overall exposure to natural hazards including floods, wildfires, tornadoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes, weighted by expected annual loss and social vulnerability.

Wilkes County is evaluated for five major natural hazard types: flooding (90th percentile), hurricane (75th percentile), earthquake (74th percentile), tornado (73th percentile), wildfire (53th percentile). The highest-risk hazard is flooding at the 90th percentile nationally. These scores are derived from FEMA's National Risk Index, which analyzes expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience for each hazard type.

Wilkes County's composite risk percentile is 83th, compared to the North Carolina state average of 67th percentile. The state's overall risk rating is Relatively Low. This means Wilkes County faces higher natural disaster risk than the typical county in North Carolina.

Yes, Wilkes County's flooding risk is at the 90th percentile nationally. This places it in the top quartile for this hazard type.

FEMA's National Risk Index (NRI) calculates risk scores for 18 natural hazard types across all U.S. counties and census tracts. The composite score combines Expected Annual Loss (estimated dollar losses from each hazard), Social Vulnerability (demographic factors affecting disaster impact), and Community Resilience (ability to recover). Percentile scores rank each county against all 3,144 U.S. counties, and risk ratings range from Very Low to Very High.

Wilkes County's composite risk score of 83th percentile is above the North Carolina state average of 67th percentile. This elevated risk is driven by flooding exposure (90th percentile), along with hurricane and earthquake and tornado and wildfire risk. Geographic location, terrain, climate patterns, and proximity to flood zones or fault lines all influence a county's risk profile.