Mitchell County, North Carolina: Natural Disaster Risk and History
Mitchell County, North Carolina has a Very Low natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 24.0 out of 100, higher than about 24% of US counties, with landslides, lightning and ice storms scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $6.9 million a year in expected losses.
OpenFEMA lists 19 federal disaster declarations that included Mitchell County since 1977, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is EM-3637-NC (Severe Winter Storm, declared 24 January 2026). NOAA's Storm Prediction Center has no tornado on record touching Mitchell County from 1950 to 2025.
Live weather alerts for North Carolina All official warnings Latest FEMA declarations
Population 14,896 Buildings worth $3.2 billion Area 224 sq mi Risk rank in North Carolina 95 of 100 FIPS 37121
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 | 94.5 | $96,336 | about once every 1.4 years | — |
| Lightning | Relatively High | 83.8 | $740,722 | about 54 a year | 33,836 strikes |
| Ice storm | Relatively Moderate | 68.3 | $169,624 | about once every 1.4 years | 49 |
| Cold wave | Relatively Low | 55.6 | $985,358 | about 4.8 a year | 91 |
| Hurricane | Very Low | 52.6 | $77,624 | about once every 36 years | 6 |
| Earthquake | Very Low | 42.2 | $145,536 | about once every 571 years | — |
| Inland flooding | Relatively Low | 39.8 | $4.1 million | about once every 1.2 years | 23 |
| Wildfire | Very Low | 33.4 | $15,002 | about once every 662 years | — |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | 26.6 | $343,414 | about once every 16 years | 0 |
| Strong wind | Relatively Low | 25.5 | $205,528 | about 2.8 a year | 107 |
| Winter weather | Very Low | 22.9 | $17,549 | about 26 a year | 484 |
| Hail | Very Low | 13.6 | $37,452 | about 4 a year | 150 |
| Drought | No Rating | 0.0 | — | about 25 a year | 756 |
| 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 19
Most common: Hurricane 8, Severe Storm 3, Flood 3, Tropical Storm 2.
| Decade | Declarations | Incident types |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1 | Flood |
| 1990s | 4 | Snowstorm ×2, Severe Storm, Flood |
| 2000s | 3 | Hurricane ×3 |
| 2010s | 4 | Hurricane ×2, Flood, Severe Storm |
| 2020s | 7 | Hurricane ×3, Tropical Storm ×2, Winter Storm, Severe Storm |
The last 10
Widest declarations that included Mitchell 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), Hurricane Ian (2022), Tropical Storm Fred (2021), Hurricane Isaias (2020), Hurricane Dorian (2019), Hurricane Florence (2018), Hurricane Katrina (2005), Hurricane Ivan (2004), Tropical Storm Frances (2004).
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 0
No tornado in NOAA's Storm Prediction Center record touched Mitchell County between 1950 and 2025. That does not mean one cannot happen.
How Mitchell County compares with its 5 nearest counties
| County | Distance | Overall risk | Score | Top hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitchell County (this page) | — | Very Low | 24.0 | Landslide |
| Yancey County | 18 km | Very Low | 42.2 | Landslide |
| Avery County | 23 km | Relatively Low | 47.5 | Landslide |
| Unicoi County, TN | 26 km | Very Low | 10.6 | Landslide |
| Carter County, TN | 31 km | Relatively Low | 63.2 | Landslide |
| McDowell County | 38 km | Relatively Low | 59.2 | Landslide |
Nearest by distance between county centres. Every county in North Carolina, ranked.
Vulnerability and resilience
| Social vulnerability | Relatively High 61.5 |
|---|---|
| Community resilience | Relatively Moderate 50.7 |
| Community risk factor | 1.23 |
| Expected annual loss, all hazards | $6.9 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 Mitchell County's main hazards
- Right now: National Weather Service alerts for North Carolina · all official warnings on Global Incident Tracker.
- Landslide: Landslides recorded
- Lightning: Weather alerts 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 Mitchell County
What natural disasters is Mitchell County, North Carolina most at risk from?
Mitchell County, North Carolina has a Very Low natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 24.0 out of 100, higher than about 24% of US counties, with landslides, lightning and ice storms scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $6.9 million a year in expected losses.
How many federal disaster declarations has Mitchell County had?
OpenFEMA lists 19 federal disaster declarations that included Mitchell County since 1977, 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 Mitchell County?
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center has no tornado on record touching Mitchell County from 1950 to 2025.
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.