9,462 flood insurance claims·$125.2M paid·11 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Beaufort County, North Carolina. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Flash flooding from summer thunderstorms and tropical systems dominates the flood character of Beaufort County. NOAA Storm Events data from the last 30 years records 22 flash flood events, alongside 15 tropical storms, 11 hurricanes resulting in two deaths, eight storm surge or tide events, seven general floods, and three coastal floods. Recent events include outer bands from Tropical Storm Debby producing showers and thunderstorms in August 2024, and storm surge impacts from Tropical Storm Ophelia following its landfall near Emerald Isle in September 2023.
NFIP claims data demonstrates that flood risk extends across multiple zones, with the vast majority concentrated in high-risk areas. Properties in Zone A account for 8,684 claims with an average payout of $15,493 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X recorded 342 claims with an average payout of $19,163 and an average water depth of 4 inches; Zone UNKNOWN recorded 338 claims with an average payout of $7,907 and an average water depth of 5 inches; Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 56 claims with an average payout of $19,946 and an average water depth of 6 inches; and Zone X_SHADED recorded 40 claims with an average payout of $14,335 and an average water depth of 3 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A, which bears the overwhelming majority of historical flood claims in the county, while also accounting for residual risk present across various Zone X designations.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
1% of Beaufort County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
8,782 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 6 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 1999, with 2,500 claims and $26.4M paid, the year of Hurricane Dennis, Hurricane Floyd and Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
31 NOAA storm reports from Beaufort County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the North Carolina flood stories →
32 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 11 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 21, 2026 |
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 25, 2024 |
| Tropical Storm Debby | Aug 5, 2024 |
| Hurricane Ian | Sep 28, 2022 |
| Tropical Storm Eta | Nov 12, 2020 |
| Hurricane Isaias | Jul 31, 2020 |
| Hurricane Dorian | Sep 1, 2019 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 7, 2018 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
66 since 1996: 22 flash floods, 7 river or area floods and 11 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 6, 2024 | — |
| Storm Surge/Tide | Sep 23, 2023 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Dec 17, 2023 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 30, 2022 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 4, 2020 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 6, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 14, 2018 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 13, 2018 | $4.2M |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 6, 2024. As the far outer bands of Tropical Storm Debbie moved northwards showers and thunderstorms developed along the Crystal Coast. The showers and thunderstorms then continued northwards on the morning of August 6th.
Storm Surge/Tide · Sep 23, 2023. On Thursday, September 21st, an area of low pressure begin to develop and get more organized off the Southeast US coastline. That low continued to deepen and become more organized, eventually taking on tropical characteristics, becoming the 15th named storm of the 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season on Friday, September 22nd. Ophelia developed into a strong tropical storm and moved north over the next couple of days, m…
Coastal Flood · Dec 17, 2023. A strong Nor'easter brought widespread heavy rainfall, isolated flash flooding, high winds, severe weather and significant coastal flooding to portions of Eastern North Carolina. A few of the more notable impacts were flash flooding, significant ocean over wash on the Outer Banks, high winds of 60-70 mph, and a low pressure record for December at Cape Hatteras (984 MB).
Tropical Storm · Sep 30, 2022. Ian initially made landfall on the west coast of Florida as a major category 4 hurricane, and then crossed into the Atlantic and moved northward, making a second landfall on the South Carolina coast near Georgetown as a category 1 hurricane. For Eastern NC, tropical storm force winds, elevated water levels, heavy rainfall of 3 to 6 inches, and a tornado were associated with Ian. Strong high pressure over New Engla…
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Beaufort County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.