827 flood insurance claims·$24.8M paid·7 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 Cumberland 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 dominates the flood risk profile in Cumberland County, accounting for 80 events over the last 30 years alongside 7 tropical storms and 6 hurricanes. Recent NOAA storm records illustrate this pattern, including a stalled front that produced flash flooding in Cumberland County on June 11, 2025, and heavy rainfall from Tropical Depression Debby on August 8, 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, indicating widespread vulnerability beyond designated high-risk areas. Zone X recorded 447 claims with an average water depth of 16 inches and an average payout of $27,395, while Zone A accounted for 310 claims with an average water depth of 5 inches and an average payout of $61,100. Shaded Zone X properties experienced an average water depth of 10 inches with an average payout of $81,192 across 23 claims.
Homeowners and real estate agents in Cumberland County should pay close attention regardless of mapped zone, particularly properties in Zone X that have recorded significant average water depths during past events, as well as properties in Zone A.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
14% of Cumberland County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
369 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 2016, with 329 claims and $17.1M paid, the year of Hurricane Matthew.
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.
46 NOAA storm reports from Cumberland County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the North Carolina flood stories →
23 federal disaster declarations since 1984, 7 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.
97 since 1996: 80 flash floods and 4 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 29, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 16, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 11, 2025 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 27, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 16, 2024 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 11, 2024 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | $2,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 29, 2025. Storms over South Carolina in association with a mid-level system tracked into central North Carolina in the afternoon and evening hours. The storms initially produced a wind damage and isolated hail threat. Thereafter, the event evolved into a flash flood threat, with training and back building storms resulting in 3 or more inches per hour rainfall rates from Albemarle to Greensboro to Burlington to Henderson.
Flash Flood · Jun 16, 2025. A southward moving cold front out of Virginia stalled out near the North Carolina border. Storms from the late evening on the 15th persisted into the early morning hours of the 16th along and south of the front, producing isolated flash flooding. The stalled boundary then fueled additional numerous showers and storms in the afternoon and evening hours of the 16th along small scale boundaries. Several downed trees…
Flash Flood · Jun 11, 2025. A stalled front over the Sandhills and Coastal Plain of central North Carolina combined with an inland penetrating sea-breeze to develop isolated to scattered storms in the afternoon and evening hours. A few storms produced wind damage across Sampson County, as well as some flash flooding in Cumberland County.
Flash Flood · Sep 27, 2024. Hurricane Helene weakened to a strong tropical storm on the morning of 27 September across northeast Georgia. Helene continued to track to the west and northwest into the Tennessee Valley. Widespread rainfall totals of 2-4 inches of rain fell over central North Carolina, along with wind gusts of 25-45 mph. Additionally, four tornadoes occurred, with the strongest an EF3, touching down over Rocky Mount in Nash County.
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 Cumberland 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.