Alleghany County, North Carolina: Natural Disaster Risk and History
Alleghany County, North Carolina has a Very Low natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 34.7 out of 100, higher than about 34% of US counties, with landslides, drought and ice storms scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $6.6 million a year in expected losses.
OpenFEMA lists 18 federal disaster declarations that included Alleghany County since 1989, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is EM-3637-NC (Severe Winter Storm, declared 24 January 2026). NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 3 tornadoes touching Alleghany County from 1950 to 2025.
Live weather alerts for North Carolina All official warnings Latest FEMA declarations
Population 10,876 Buildings worth $3.4 billion Area 239 sq mi Risk rank in North Carolina 91 of 100 FIPS 37005
All 18 hazards, highest risk first
FEMA National Risk Index| Hazard | Risk rating | Score | Expected loss a year | How often | Events in record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Landslide | Relatively Moderate | 90.2 | $34,392 | about once every 1.5 years | — |
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | 83.1 | $669,044 | about 15 a year | 462 |
| Ice storm | Relatively Moderate | 80.5 | $252,586 | about once every 1.3 years | 53 |
| Cold wave | Relatively Moderate | 77.7 | $1.9 million | about 4.6 a year | 87 |
| Hurricane | Relatively Low | 59.1 | $112,095 | about once every 31 years | 2 |
| Wildfire | Very Low | 45.8 | $21,702 | about once every 820 years | — |
| Earthquake | Very Low | 43.8 | $114,971 | about once every 658 years | — |
| Inland flooding | Relatively Low | 41.1 | $3.0 million | about once every 1.1 years | 26 |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | 39.1 | $92,674 | about 48 a year | 35,220 strikes |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | 27.5 | $257,209 | about once every 17 years | 2 |
| Strong wind | Relatively Low | 24.3 | $136,900 | about 2.7 a year | 102 |
| Winter weather | Very Low | 19.3 | $10,059 | about 13 a year | 237 |
| Hail | Very Low | 17.8 | $37,389 | about 4.3 a year | 165 |
| Heat wave | No Rating | 0.0 | — | — | 0 |
| Avalanche | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Coastal flooding | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Tsunami | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Volcanic activity | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
Score: FEMA's percentile among US counties that face the hazard (higher = more risk). Expected loss: FEMA's modelled average yearly loss to buildings, people (as a statistical value) and crops. How often: FEMA's annualised frequency of the hazard in the county; for some hazards it counts event-days, so it is a rough guide, not a forecast. "Not Applicable" means FEMA does not model that hazard here.
Federal disaster declarations 18
Most common: Hurricane 9, Tropical Storm 3, Severe Storm 2, Snowstorm 2.
| Decade | Declarations | Incident types |
|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 1 | Hurricane |
| 1990s | 2 | Snowstorm ×2 |
| 2000s | 3 | Hurricane ×3 |
| 2010s | 5 | Hurricane ×3, Flood, Severe Storm |
| 2020s | 7 | Tropical Storm ×3, Hurricane ×2, Winter Storm, Severe Storm |
The last 10
Widest declarations that included Alleghany County
- Severe Winter Storm (2026, EM-3637-NC): 100 North Carolina counties designated.
- Hurricane Helene (2024, EM-3617-NC): 100 North Carolina counties designated.
- Hurricane Ian (2022, EM-3586-NC): 100 North Carolina counties designated.
Named storms in its declarations: Tropical Storm Helene (2024), Hurricane Helene (2024), Tropical Storm Debby (2024), Hurricane Ian (2022), Tropical Storm Eta (2021), Hurricane Isaias (2020), Hurricane Dorian (2019), Hurricane Florence (2018), Hurricane Katrina (2005), Hurricane Ivan (2004), Tropical Storm Frances (2004), Hurricane Hugo (1989).
Not counted above: 2 COVID-19 ("Biological") declarations — in 2020 every US county was included. North Carolina also had 9 statewide declarations with no county list.
Tornado record since 1950 3
| Tornadoes touching the county | 3 |
|---|---|
| Strongest-rated | (E)F2 ×1 |
| Peak month | May (3) |
| Deadliest | 8 May 2009, EF2, 4.9 mi path, 0 killed, 6 injured |
| Longest path | 8 May 2009, EF2, 4.9 mi path, 0 killed, 6 injured |
| Most recent | 8 May 2009, EF2, 4.9 mi path, 0 killed, 6 injured |
| Deaths / injuries on those paths | 0 / 7 |
| Rating | (E)F0 | (E)F1 | (E)F2 | (E)F3 | (E)F4 | (E)F5 | Unrated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Decade | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Deaths and injuries are for each tornado's whole path, which can run beyond this county. F-scale ratings before February 2007, Enhanced Fujita (EF) after.
How Alleghany County compares with its 5 nearest counties
| County | Distance | Overall risk | Score | Top hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alleghany County (this page) | — | Very Low | 34.7 | Landslide |
| Grayson County, VA | 20 km | Very Low | 24.7 | Landslide |
| Galax City, VA | 27 km | Very Low | 6.8 | Cold wave |
| Wilkes County | 32 km | Relatively Moderate | 82.6 | Ice storm |
| Ashe County | 34 km | Relatively Low | 66.8 | Landslide |
| Surry County | 40 km | Relatively Low | 73.6 | Cold wave |
Nearest by distance between county centres. Every county in North Carolina, ranked.
Vulnerability and resilience
| Social vulnerability | Very High 94.5 |
|---|---|
| Community resilience | Very Low 10.5 |
| Community risk factor | 1.75 |
| Expected annual loss, all hazards | $6.6 million |
FEMA scales expected losses up where social vulnerability is high (people who may find it harder to prepare, evacuate or recover) and down where community resilience is high. A factor above 1 raises the risk score. For social vulnerability a high rating is worse; for resilience a high rating is better.
Prepare for Alleghany County's main hazards
- Right now: National Weather Service alerts for North Carolina · all official warnings on Global Incident Tracker.
- Landslide: Landslides recorded
- Drought: Drought monitor for North Carolina
- Ice storm: Power outages now · Carbon monoxide in winter
- Your property's flood zone: FEMA Flood Map Service Center ↗ — this page cannot tell you that.
- Official preparedness guidance: Ready.gov ↗ and your county emergency management office.
What this page shows, and what it misses
FEMA's National Risk Index rates a whole county against every other US county; it is a planning-level estimate for nationwide comparison, not a flood-zone map and not a substitute for a local risk assessment or the risk to one home. Declarations are presidential disaster, emergency and fire management declarations that named this county; state declarations and SBA or USDA designations are not included. Tornadoes are counted when the county is one of up to four listed on the track; 670 tornadoes that crossed a state line carry no county list in NOAA's file and are left out.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Risk Index Dataset: National Risk Index Counties - v1.20.0 (December 2025). Retrieved from https://services.arcgis.com/XG15cJAlne2vxtgt/ArcGIS/rest/services/National_Risk_Index_Counties/FeatureServer/0/query on November 2, 2026, 1:20 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets 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).
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), OpenFEMA Dataset: Disaster Declarations Summaries - v2, retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/api/open/v2/DisasterDeclarationsSummaries on November 2, 2026, 1:21 PM EST. 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).
Tornado records: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center, Severe Weather Database, tornadoes 1950–2025 (https://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/data/1950-2025_actual_tornadoes.csv, downloaded 2 November 2026). Public domain; not endorsed by NOAA. Compiled by Global Incident Tracker.
Questions about Alleghany County
What natural disasters is Alleghany County, North Carolina most at risk from?
Alleghany County, North Carolina has a Very Low natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 34.7 out of 100, higher than about 34% of US counties, with landslides, drought and ice storms scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $6.6 million a year in expected losses.
How many federal disaster declarations has Alleghany County had?
OpenFEMA lists 18 federal disaster declarations that included Alleghany County since 1989, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is EM-3637-NC (Severe Winter Storm, declared 24 January 2026). Another 9 North Carolina declarations were made statewide without a county list.
How many tornadoes have hit Alleghany County?
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 3 tornadoes touching Alleghany County from 1950 to 2025. The deadliest: 8 May 2009, EF2, 4.9 mi path, 0 killed, 6 injured (deaths and injuries are for the whole path).
Is the National Risk Index a flood zone map?
No. The National Risk Index is a planning-level estimate for a whole county, built for nationwide comparison. It does not tell you the flood zone or the risk of a single property: for that, look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center (msc.fema.gov) and ask your local floodplain manager.