Scotland County, North Carolina: Natural Disaster Risk and History
Scotland County, North Carolina has a Relatively Low natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 63.6 out of 100, higher than about 63% of US counties, with hurricanes, wildfires and earthquakes scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $14 million a year in expected losses.
OpenFEMA lists 17 federal disaster declarations that included Scotland County since 1984, 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 7 tornadoes touching Scotland County from 1950 to 2025.
Live weather alerts for North Carolina All official warnings Latest FEMA declarations
Population 34,158 Buildings worth $7.5 billion Area 324 sq mi Risk rank in North Carolina 64 of 100 FIPS 37165
All 18 hazards, highest risk first
FEMA National Risk Index| Hazard | Risk rating | Score | Expected loss a year | How often | Events in record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricane | Relatively Moderate | 87.0 | $2.9 million | about once every 4.7 years | 63 |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | 82.0 | $300,613 | about once every 337 years | — |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | 81.5 | $1.1 million | about once every 478 years | — |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | 80.8 | $2.5 million | about once every 6.4 years | 10 |
| Strong wind | Relatively Moderate | 72.4 | $618,666 | about 2.6 a year | 100 |
| Heat wave | Relatively Low | 71.6 | $586,942 | about 8.2 a year | 133 |
| Ice storm | Relatively Moderate | 71.5 | $141,871 | about once every 1.1 years | 63 |
| Winter weather | Relatively Moderate | 67.2 | $70,438 | about 4.2 a year | 80 |
| Hail | Relatively Low | 62.4 | $246,111 | about 3.5 a year | 133 |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | 57.7 | $183,908 | about 55 a year | 85,584 strikes |
| Inland flooding | Relatively Low | 56.4 | $4.8 million | about once every 1.5 years | 19 |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 47.5 | $73,928 | about 17 a year | 511 |
| Cold wave | Relatively Low | 45.5 | $477,106 | about once every 2.1 years | 9 |
| Landslide | Very Low | 11.9 | $22 | about once every 18 years | — |
| 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 17
Most common: Hurricane 12, Tropical Storm 2, Winter Storm 1, Severe Storm 1.
| Decade | Declarations | Incident types |
|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 1 | Tornado |
| 1990s | 3 | Hurricane ×3 |
| 2000s | 3 | Hurricane ×2, Severe Storm |
| 2010s | 5 | Hurricane ×5 |
| 2020s | 5 | Tropical Storm ×2, Hurricane ×2, Winter Storm |
The last 10
Widest declarations that included Scotland 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: Hurricane Helene (2024), Tropical Storm Debby (2024), Hurricane Ian (2022), Hurricane Isaias (2020), Hurricane Dorian (2019), Hurricane Florence (2018), Hurricane Matthew (2016), Hurricane Katrina (2005), Tropical Storm Frances (2004), Hurricane Floyd (1999), Hurricane Fran (1996).
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 7
| Tornadoes touching the county | 7 |
|---|---|
| Strongest-rated | (E)F3 ×1 |
| Peak month | August (3) |
| Deadliest | 29 Aug 1964, F3, 21.9 mi path, 0 killed, 15 injured |
| Longest path | 29 Aug 1964, F3, 21.9 mi path, 0 killed, 15 injured |
| Most recent | 29 Aug 2004, F0, 0.5 mi path |
| Deaths / injuries on those paths | 0 / 16 |
| Rating | (E)F0 | (E)F1 | (E)F2 | (E)F3 | (E)F4 | (E)F5 | Unrated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Decade | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 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 Scotland County compares with its 5 nearest counties
| County | Distance | Overall risk | Score | Top hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland County (this page) | — | Relatively Low | 63.6 | Hurricane |
| Hoke County | 30 km | Relatively Low | 50.1 | Hurricane |
| Richmond County | 31 km | Relatively Low | 60.8 | Hurricane |
| Marlboro County, SC | 32 km | Relatively Low | 57.5 | Ice storm |
| Robeson County | 41 km | Relatively Moderate | 91.1 | Strong wind |
| Dillon County, SC | 51 km | Relatively Moderate | 84.3 | Hurricane |
Nearest by distance between county centres. Every county in North Carolina, ranked.
Vulnerability and resilience
| Social vulnerability | Very High 97.5 |
|---|---|
| Community resilience | Relatively Low 25.2 |
| Community risk factor | 1.75 |
| Expected annual loss, all hazards | $14 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 Scotland County's main hazards
- Right now: National Weather Service alerts for North Carolina · all official warnings on Global Incident Tracker.
- Hurricane: Is there a hurricane now? · Cyclone preparation
- Wildfire: US wildfires now · Wildfire smoke: what protects you
- Earthquake: Earthquakes today · Earthquake safety guide
- 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 Scotland County
What natural disasters is Scotland County, North Carolina most at risk from?
Scotland County, North Carolina has a Relatively Low natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 63.6 out of 100, higher than about 63% of US counties, with hurricanes, wildfires and earthquakes scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $14 million a year in expected losses.
How many federal disaster declarations has Scotland County had?
OpenFEMA lists 17 federal disaster declarations that included Scotland County since 1984, 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 Scotland County?
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 7 tornadoes touching Scotland County from 1950 to 2025. The deadliest: 29 Aug 1964, F3, 21.9 mi path, 0 killed, 15 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.