Flood Help Guide

North Carolina flood insurance and flood history

From FEMA's flood insurance and disaster data · Updated 2026-10-08

109,593NFIP flood claims since 1978
$2.3 billionPaid on those claims
$50,047Average paid claimlast 10 years
2.6%Homes with NFIP flood insurance
9Flood disaster declarationssince 2000

FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) data lists 109,593 flood insurance claims in North Carolina since 1978. The NFIP paid $2.3 billion on them (building, contents and Increased Cost of Compliance payments, in the dollars of the year paid).

The year with the most claims was 2018, with 16,520, mostly from Hurricane Florence.

In the last ten years (2017–2026) there were 25,727 claims, and the average paid claim was $50,047.

19% of the claims with a recorded flood zone came from buildings outside FEMA's high-risk zones (rated zones B, C and X).

About 2.6% of homes in North Carolina had an NFIP flood policy in FEMA's latest count (106,560 of 4,056,295 residential buildings). In the high-risk flood zones (Special Flood Hazard Areas), it was 53% (60,527 of 113,606).

Since 2000, FEMA has made 9 flood-related disaster declarations covering parts of North Carolina. The most recent was DR-4837-NC (Potential Tropical Cyclone Eight), declared October 19, 2024.

Flood insurance claims in North Carolina by year

NFIP flood claims per year in North Carolina, 1978 to 202605k10k15k20k1978: 182 claims, $372,931 paid1979: 473 claims, $2.3 million paid1980: 172 claims, $1.4 million paid19801981: 187 claims, $617,775 paid1982: 361 claims, $1.1 million paid1983: 471 claims, $1.2 million paid1984: 531 claims, $1.1 million paid1985: 616 claims, $2.2 million paid1986: 356 claims, $966,449 paid1987: 845 claims, $2.5 million paid1988: 129 claims, $1.4 million paid1989: 2,137 claims, $17.1 million paid1990: 221 claims, $1.3 million paid19901991: 1,081 claims, $9.6 million paid1992: 428 claims, $2.6 million paid1993: 3,170 claims, $20.2 million paid1994: 588 claims, $4.9 million paid1995: 832 claims, $14.6 million paid1996: 12,878 claims, $189.1 million paid1997: 509 claims, $10.7 million paid1998: 5,170 claims, $28.0 million paid1999: 16,192 claims, $232.5 million paid2000: 309 claims, $4.2 million paid20002001: 231 claims, $1.3 million paid2002: 281 claims, $2.1 million paid2003: 7,276 claims, $111.8 million paid2004: 2,336 claims, $39.9 million paid2005: 2,012 claims, $21.6 million paid2006: 1,393 claims, $22.9 million paid2007: 100 claims, $1.0 million paid2008: 814 claims, $18.0 million paid2009: 822 claims, $8.6 million paid2010: 1,446 claims, $19.0 million paid20102011: 9,604 claims, $177.5 million paid2012: 993 claims, $13.2 million paid2013: 549 claims, $10.9 million paid2014: 654 claims, $6.5 million paid2015: 796 claims, $9.7 million paid2016: 6,721 claims, $219.0 million paid2017: 272 claims, $2.6 million paid2018: 16,520 claims, $653.0 million paid2019: 1,778 claims, $53.9 million paid2020: 1,821 claims, $29.7 million paid20202021: 484 claims, $18.9 million paid2022: 377 claims, $4.6 million paid2023: 317 claims, $5.6 million paid2024: 3,341 claims, $260.7 million paid2025: 698 claims, $43.7 million paid2026: 119 claims, $2.1 million paid
NFIP claims per year by year of loss. Hover or tap a bar for the count and amount paid. 2026 is partial.
Show as a table
YearClaimsPaid
2026119$2.1 million
2025698$43.7 million
20243,341$260.7 million
2023317$5.6 million
2022377$4.6 million
2021484$18.9 million
20201,821$29.7 million
20191,778$53.9 million
201816,520$653.0 million
2017272$2.6 million
20166,721$219.0 million
2015796$9.7 million
2014654$6.5 million
2013549$10.9 million
2012993$13.2 million
20119,604$177.5 million
20101,446$19.0 million
2009822$8.6 million
2008814$18.0 million
2007100$1.0 million
20061,393$22.9 million
20052,012$21.6 million
20042,336$39.9 million
20037,276$111.8 million
2002281$2.1 million
2001231$1.3 million
2000309$4.2 million
199916,192$232.5 million
19985,170$28.0 million
1997509$10.7 million
199612,878$189.1 million
1995832$14.6 million
1994588$4.9 million
19933,170$20.2 million
1992428$2.6 million
19911,081$9.6 million
1990221$1.3 million
19892,137$17.1 million
1988129$1.4 million
1987845$2.5 million
1986356$966,449
1985616$2.2 million
1984531$1.1 million
1983471$1.2 million
1982361$1.1 million
1981187$617,775
1980172$1.4 million
1979473$2.3 million
1978182$372,931

Biggest flood events by NFIP payments

The flood events FEMA's claims data names most often for North Carolina, ranked by what the NFIP paid. FEMA names events in its claims records; claims without an event name aren't included here.

EventYearClaimsPaid
Hurricane Florence201815,337$637.3 million
Hurricane Helene20242,028$219.6 million
Hurricane Matthew20165,929$204.7 million
Hurricane Floyd199912,334$199.6 million
Hurricane Fran199610,357$176.8 million
Hurricane Irene20119,337$172.7 million
Hurricane Isabel20036,456$99.6 million
2025 July TS Chantal2025316$31.6 million
Hurricane Dennis19993,449$31.0 million
Tropical Cyclone Eight2024738$30.2 million

Flood history by county

Every North Carolina county in FEMA's data, sorted by number of NFIP claims since 1978. "Insured" is the share of homes with an NFIP policy.

CountyClaimsPaidInsuredFlood declarations
Dare County18,950$230.9 million39.7%2
New Hanover County11,183$187.7 million14.7%3
Brunswick County9,879$99.3 million21.5%3
Beaufort County9,462$131.5 million13.5%2
Carteret County8,997$128.9 million21.5%2
Craven County6,126$239.5 million11.7%3
Pender County5,889$118.1 million16.1%3
Onslow County4,432$70.7 million6.3%4
Pamlico County4,330$102.8 million26.2%1
Mecklenburg County2,883$61.6 million0.8%1
Currituck County2,007$21.9 million19.2%2
Hyde County1,734$44.8 million32.7%1
Wake County1,642$31.3 million0.8%2
Robeson County1,430$54.6 million2.6%2
Pitt County1,205$36.3 million2.3%3
Wayne County1,193$47.0 million1.3%2
Buncombe County1,192$104.1 million1.0%3
Lenoir County835$44.4 million1.5%1
Cumberland County827$24.8 million1.2%2
Edgecombe County795$28.2 million3.5%1
Nash County735$33.7 million1.4%1
Haywood County733$36.2 million2.0%2
Columbus County712$25.0 million2.2%1
Guilford County680$9.4 million0.4%1
Tyrrell County588$9.0 million16.6%3
Orange County568$36.4 million1.5%1
Duplin County542$52.1 million2.6%1
Pasquotank County531$6.5 million11.0%1
Wilson County498$12.6 million1.3%2
Watauga County463$16.3 million2.0%4
Durham County443$11.0 million1.3%1
Henderson County442$29.6 million1.0%1
Forsyth County440$4.7 million0.4%1
Bertie County423$13.1 million0.9%3
Johnston County313$11.4 million0.7%2
Avery County288$15.2 million1.7%4
Camden County285$3.4 million13.7%2
Chowan County282$6.2 million3.4%1
Cabarrus County241$5.4 million0.5%1
Catawba County210$4.9 million0.3%2
Jones County205$17.0 million4.2%2
Bladen County195$9.2 million0.9%2
Ashe County183$7.3 million1.1%5
Alamance County168$5.1 million0.5%2
Perquimans County160$975,6476.0%2
Hertford County159$3.2 million0.5%3
Washington County157$2.8 million3.5%2
Moore County154$2.9 million1.3%1
Transylvania County153$6.3 million1.6%1
Sampson County148$6.1 million0.5%2
Yancey County146$8.9 million1.6%4
Burke County131$11.3 million0.3%3
Rutherford County117$8.1 million0.4%2
Harnett County116$2.5 million0.7%2
McDowell County111$8.4 million0.7%2
Madison County110$8.8 million1.0%4
Rockingham County108$725,3480.1%1
Gaston County105$1.3 million0.4%2
Davidson County103$1.7 million0.3%1
Jackson County97$1.1 million1.2%3
Caldwell County85$1.5 million0.4%3
Greene County82$2.5 million0.7%2
Union County81$1.7 million0.4%1
Macon County79$2.0 million0.8%2
Polk County79$4.4 million0.8%3
Surry County72$1.2 million0.1%1
Stanly County66$3.0 million0.2%2
Randolph County65$395,1810.2%2
Rowan County65$1.1 million0.3%1
Lee County63$1.1 million0.5%2
Iredell County60$1.1 million0.2%1
Cherokee County56$978,5170.8%2
Swain County56$1.2 million0.9%2
Cleveland County54$740,4470.1%2
Halifax County54$845,6110.3%2
Mitchell County50$2.7 million0.6%4
Martin County42$621,3490.5%2
Chatham County41$2.1 million0.7%1
Hoke County39$615,5850.5%2
Clay County35$175,2182.0%1
Northampton County34$282,5960.2%1
Wilkes County34$1.4 million0.1%2
Gates County26$334,3271.1%1
Richmond County25$318,2080.2%1
Franklin County23$279,0170.3%1
Scotland County20$560,1180.4%1
Stokes County18$246,6620.1%3
Granville County15$195,6700.2%1
Lincoln County15$246,4420.2%2
Alleghany County13$475,3890.2%3
Davie County12$146,8480.3%1
Vance County12$174,4970.1%1
Person County9$49,6520.1%1
Graham County7$14,1690.8%2
Alexander County6$41,8840.1%2
Montgomery County6$80,6430.1%1
Yadkin County6$6,1530.1%2
Anson County4$21,5250.0%1
Warren County4$00.2%1
Caswell County1$00.0%1

Flood-related FEMA disaster declarations in North Carolina

Declarations since 2000 that FEMA lists as involving flooding. "Help for individuals" means FEMA's Individual Assistance was approved for at least part of the area.

DeclarationDeclaredEventHelp for individuals
DR-4837-NC Oct 19, 2024 Potential Tropical Cyclone Eight No
EM-3617-NC Sep 26, 2024 Hurricane Helene No
DR-4543-NC May 8, 2020 Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding No
DR-4153-NC Oct 29, 2013 Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, Mudslides No
DR-4146-NC Sep 25, 2013 Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides No
DR-4103-NC Mar 1, 2013 Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides No
DR-1969-NC Apr 19, 2011 Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding Yes
DR-1942-NC Oct 14, 2010 Severe Storms, Flooding, and Straight-Line Winds Yes
DR-1871-NC Feb 2, 2010 Severe Winter Storms and Flooding No

What to do with this

A county's history doesn't tell you your own building's risk. To see your property's flood zone, use FEMA's flood map lookup. To weigh coverage, start with do I need flood insurance? and what flood insurance costs.

Where these numbers come from

All figures on this page are calculated from FEMA's public OpenFEMA datasets:

FEMA's redacted claims data doesn't identify properties, and FEMA notes that some records lack a county or flood zone. See how we use the data.