8,997 flood insurance claims·$123.1M paid·12 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 Carteret 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 severe weather and tropical systems dominates the flood history of Carteret County, accounting for 53 of the 82 recorded flood events over the last 30 years alongside 15 general floods, 10 tropical storms, 2 hurricanes, 1 storm surge or tide event, and 1 coastal flood. Recent impacts include Tropical Storm Debby in August 2024, which brought strong moisture advection and heavy rainfall to eastern North Carolina after moving northward through the region.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate widespread historical claims across multiple zones, led by Zone A with 6,091 claims averaging a $21,291 payout and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Zone X follows with 1,238 claims averaging $17,572 with an average 5-inch water depth, unshaded Zone X with 853 claims averaging $11,954 with an average 5-inch depth, Zone V with 587 claims averaging $14,941 with an average 4-inch depth, and shaded Zone X with 144 claims averaging $14,640 with an average 4-inch water depth.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in high-risk coastal and riverine areas, specifically those located in Zone A and Zone V where claim volume and payouts are highest, as well as properties in various Zone X designations experiencing structural water accumulation.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
13% of Carteret County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
7,675 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 2,521 claims and $64.4M 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.
32 NOAA storm reports from Carteret County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the North Carolina flood stories →
30 federal disaster declarations since 1993, 12 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 21, 2026 |
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 25, 2024 |
| Potential Tropical Cyclone Eight | Sep 16, 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 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
82 since 1996: 53 flash floods, 15 river or area floods and 2 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Sep 17, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 16, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 12, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 10, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 9, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 8, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 31, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Sep 17, 2024. Tropical moisture surged northwards as a developing area of low pressure (PTC #8) off the coast of the Carolinas began to move inland. Heavy tropical rains associated with the low began on the 16th and continued on the 17th across the Outer Banks.
Flash Flood · Sep 16, 2024. Tropical moisture surged northwards as a developing area of low pressure (PTC #8) off the coast of the Carolinas began to move inland. Heavy tropical rains associated with the low began on the 16th and continued on the 17th across the Outer Banks.
Flash Flood · Aug 12, 2024. Slow moving thunderstorms produced isolated areas of flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Aug 10, 2024. Several episodes of heavy rain lead to several instances of flash flooding.
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 Carteret 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.