195 flood insurance claims·$9.1M 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 Bladen 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 history of Bladen County. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 48 flash flood events, 10 general flood events, 4 tropical storms, and 1 hurricane, resulting in a combined 4 deaths from flash floods and tropical storms. Recent impacts include historic rainfall and extensive flash flooding from Potential Tropical Cyclone #8 in September 2024, as well as heavy rainfall from Tropical Storm Debby in August 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, with the highest volume occurring in Zone A, which recorded 105 claims with an average payout of $55,750 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Zone X recorded 58 claims averaging $40,164 with an average depth of 3 inches, while Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 12 claims with a higher average payout of $100,732 and an average depth of 3 inches. Zone UNKNOWN accounted for 18 claims with an average payout of $31,099 and an average depth of 3 inches, and Zone V recorded 2 claims averaging $2,470 with 0 inches of average recorded water depth.
Homeowners and real estate professionals in Zone A and Zone X should pay the closest attention to these risks, as they account for the vast majority of historical insurance claims and water damage in the county.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
10% of Bladen County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
119 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 4 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 2018, with 95 claims and $5.1M paid, the year of Hurricane Florence.
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.
40 NOAA storm reports from Bladen County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the North Carolina flood stories →
27 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 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 |
| Hurricane Isaias | Jul 31, 2020 |
| Hurricane Dorian | Sep 1, 2019 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 7, 2018 |
| Hurricane Matthew | Oct 4, 2016 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
63 since 1996: 48 flash floods and 10 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 11, 2025 | $3,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 16, 2024 | $3,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | $4,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 7, 2024 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 4, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Oct 6, 2023 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 30, 2022 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 11, 2025. Record high levels of moisture paired with a mid level disturbance produce corridors of heavy rainfall and flooding.
Flash Flood · Sep 16, 2024. Potential Tropical Cyclone #8 located off the SC coast was classified by the National Hurricane Center on September 15 and a Tropical Storm Warning was issued for the entire coast of southeast NC and northeast SC at that time. The system slowly moved toward the coast but never became organized enough to be classified as a tropical (or subtropical) cyclone, eventually moving inland around the NC/SC border on Septem…
Flash Flood · Aug 8, 2024. After making landfall in the Big Bend area of Florida as a Category 1 hurricane on August 5, Debby weakened to a tropical storm as it slowly moved across southeastern Georgia and offshore before making another landfall along the central SC coast between Charleston and Georgetown. The storm then moved northwest to near the SC/NC border and weakened to a tropical depression on August 8 before quickly becoming a non-…
Flash Flood · Aug 7, 2024. After making landfall in the Big Bend area of Florida as a Category 1 hurricane on August 5, Debby weakened to a tropical storm as it slowly moved across southeastern Georgia and offshore before making another landfall along the central SC coast between Charleston and Georgetown. The storm then moved northwest to near the SC/NC border and weakened to a tropical depression on August 8 before quickly becoming a non-…
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 Bladen 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.