35 flood insurance claims·$175,218 paid·2 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 Clay 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.
6% of Clay County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
32 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 16 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 2013, with 13 claims and $68,274 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides.
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.
2 NOAA storm reports from Clay County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the North Carolina flood stories →
13 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 21, 2026 |
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 25, 2024 |
| Tropical Storm Helene | Sep 25, 2024 |
| Hurricane Ian | Sep 28, 2022 |
| Hurricane Isaias | Jul 31, 2020 |
| Hurricane Dorian | Sep 1, 2019 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 7, 2018 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
12 since 1996: 5 flash floods and 6 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Apr 7, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jul 4, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 25, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Mar 25, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 13, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Dec 2, 2015 | — |
| Flood | Sep 21, 2009 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 16, 2004 | $15,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Apr 7, 2025. A cold front swept through the southern Appalachian region on April 6th, exiting the area to the east during the morning hours on April 7th. This front produced several hours of moderate to heavy rainfall in the mountains of east Tennessee and western North Carolina. This rainfall caused flooding along Tusquittee Creek near Hayesville.
Flood · Jul 4, 2025. An isolated thunderstorm produced heavy rains over portions of Cherokee and Clay counties in western North Carolina on the evening of July 4th. Some flash flooding occurred in Clay county as a result.
Flash Flood · Mar 25, 2021. A weather system moved from the Lower Mississippi River Valley through the Appalachian Mountains, bringing locally heavy rainfall across southwestern North Carolina on the 25th.
Flood · Mar 25, 2021. A weather system moved from the Lower Mississippi River Valley through the Appalachian Mountains, bringing locally heavy rainfall across southwestern North Carolina on the 25th.
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 Clay 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.