54 flood insurance claims·$740,447 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 Cleveland 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 heavy rainfall systems dominates the flood character of Cleveland County, accounting for 14 flash flood events, 7 general flood events, and 2 tropical storm events over the last 30 years. Recent impacts include severe flash flooding on June 14, 2025, when slow-moving thunderstorms dropped up to 5 inches of rain over southern Cleveland County. Additionally, heavy rainfall from Tropical Cyclone Helene on September 27, 2024, and a major frontal system on January 9, 2024, which brought 3 to 5 inches of rain in approximately 12 hours, resulted in widespread flooding across the region. Tropical storms have caused two deaths in the county over the 30-year period.
NFIP claims data reflects risk across different zones. Properties in Zone A have recorded 41 claims with an average payout of $22,761 and an average recorded water depth of 12 inches. Properties in Zone X experienced 9 claims with an average payout of $10,584 and an average water depth of 8 inches, while Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 3 claims with an average payout of $3,141 and an average water depth of 2 inches. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 1 claim with a $0 average payout and an average water depth of 0 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone A face the highest average payouts and water depths, while properties in Zone X and unshaded areas should also pay attention due to documented claims and standing water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
7% of Cleveland County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
44 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 10 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 2010, with 10 claims and $241,373 paid.
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.
11 NOAA storm reports from Cleveland County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the North Carolina flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 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 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Feb 6, 2020 |
| Hurricane Dorian | Sep 1, 2019 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 7, 2018 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
23 since 1996: 14 flash floods and 7 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 14, 2025 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 27, 2024 | $2.0M |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 27, 2024 | $3.0M · 2 killed |
| Flash Flood | Jan 9, 2024 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Mar 26, 2021 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Nov 12, 2020 | $500 |
| Flood | Feb 6, 2020 | $1.0M |
| Flood | Feb 6, 2020 | $100,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 14, 2025. Scattered, slow-moving thunderstorms developed over western North Carolina during the early morning hours. Multiple slow-moving storms moved over southern Cleveland County, resulting in up to 5 inches of rain falling in a short period of time, followed by localized flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Sep 27, 2024. Tropical Cyclone Helene began organizing over the western Caribbean on the 23rd and 24th of September before rapidly intensifying as it moved north through the eastern Gulf of Mexico on the 25th and 26th. A plume of moisture extending from the intensifying storm interacted with a slow-moving cold front to produce a band of widespread heavy rain showers and embedded scattered thunderstorms over the southern Appalac…
Tropical Storm · Sep 27, 2024. Tropical Cyclone Helene began organizing over the western Caribbean on the 23rd and 24th of September before rapidly intensifying as it moved north through the eastern Gulf of Mexico on the 25th and 26th. A plume of moisture extending from the intensifying storm interacted with a slow-moving cold front to produce a band of widespread heavy rain showers and embedded scattered thunderstorms over the southern Appalac…
Flash Flood · Jan 9, 2024. A major/complex frontal system brought widespread rain with embedded thunderstorms to western North Carolina, mainly during the afternoon of the 9th. Widespread rainfall amounts of 3 to 5 inches (with locally higher amounts) in around 12 hours resulted in numerous reports of flooding. Isolated severe thunderstorms also resulted in a number of damaging wind gusts reports over the Piedmont, along with an EF1 tornado…
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 Cleveland 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.