12 flood insurance claims·$146,848 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 Davie 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.
Flood risk in Davie County is primarily driven by general floods and flash floods, supported by a 30-year history of 7 flood events, 6 flash flood events, and 2 tropical storm events recorded in the NOAA Storm Events Database.
Historical impacts are closely tied to tropical systems tracking through the region. For example, Tropical Storm Zeta on October 29, 2020, brought tropical moisture, heavy rain, and strong winds that downed hundreds of trees onto structures and vehicles. Additionally, Tropical Cyclone Eta caused heavy rainfall of 4 to 6 inches on November 13, 2020, resulting in significant flash flooding and main stem river flooding.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that policyholders in both high-risk and moderate-to-low-risk areas have experienced losses. Zone A recorded 7 claims with an average payout of $22,509 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Zone X recorded 4 claims with an average payout of $16,104 and an average recorded water depth of 99 inches. An additional claim was recorded in Zone UNKNOWN with a payout averaging $2,098 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents in designated flood zones and low-risk areas alike should review these claim patterns when assessing property risk.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 21 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 2020, with 3 claims and $22,227 paid, the year of Hurricane Isaias and Tropical Storm Eta.
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.
4 NOAA storm reports from Davie County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the North Carolina flood stories →
22 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 Debby | Aug 5, 2024 |
| Hurricane Ian | Sep 28, 2022 |
| Tropical Storm Eta | Nov 12, 2020 |
| Hurricane Isaias | Jul 31, 2020 |
| Hurricane Dorian | Sep 1, 2019 |
| Tropical Storm Michael | Oct 10, 2018 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
15 since 1996: 6 flash floods and 7 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm | Oct 29, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Nov 13, 2020 | $75,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 18, 2018 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 16, 2018 | $500 |
| Flash Flood | Oct 11, 2018 | $500 |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 11, 2018 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 27, 2013 | — |
| Flood | Sep 28, 2004 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Tropical Storm · Oct 29, 2020. Tropical moisture and heavy rain overspread western North Carolina throughout the 28th through the morning of the 29th as the center of Tropical Storm Zeta moved quickly from the mouth of the Mississippi River into the southern Appalachians. Strong winds developed across portions of western North Carolina during the morning, downing hundreds of trees across the area. Multiple trees fell on structures and vehicles.…
Flood · Nov 13, 2020. Tropical Cyclone Eta moved from the eastern Gulf of Mexico, across the northern Florida peninsula, to off the South Carolina coast throughout the 11th and 12th. Tropical moisture streaming into the Carolinas throughout this time resulted in development of heavy rainfall, with widespread rainfall amounts of 4 to 6 inches, with locally higher amounts across the foothills and Piedmont of North Carolina. This resulted…
Flash Flood · Sep 16, 2018. Tropical Cyclone Florence made landfall on the 15th and moved slowly west while weakening through the 16th. Widespread rainfall of 4 to 10 inches, with locally higher amounts fell across western North Carolina over a 36-48 hour period, with the highest totals reported along the Blue Ridge escarpment, and in southern and eastern sections of the Charlotte Metro area. Localized flash flooding was reported in these ar…
Flash Flood · Oct 11, 2018. Tropical cyclone Michael tracked northeast across the Midlands and Piedmont of South Carolina and through the North Carolina Piedmont on the 11th. Three to six inches of rain falling in around 6 hours or less resulted in localized flash flooding, mainly in locations near the Blue Ridge and also across the far western Piedmont.
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 Davie 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.