542 flood insurance claims·$52.1M paid·9 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 Duplin 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 tropical systems dominates the flood history of Duplin County. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 43 flash flood events, alongside 15 tropical storms resulting in 2 deaths, 10 general floods causing 3 deaths, and 8 hurricanes resulting in 4 deaths. Recent events illustrate this pattern, including flash flooding caused by tropical moisture surging inland from a developing low off the coast in September 2024, and slow-moving thunderstorms producing very heavy rain and flash flooding in August 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, indicating widespread risk beyond designated high-risk areas. Zone X accounts for 322 claims with an average payout of $130,219 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Zone A accounts for 174 claims with an average payout of $74,466 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Zone V records 25 claims with an average payout of $19,643 and an average water depth of 3 inches, while unknown zones and unshaded Zone X account for a smaller share of claims with average water depths of 4 to 5 inches.
Homeowners and real estate professionals in both high-risk Special Flood Hazard Areas and moderate-to-low risk Zone X properties should pay close attention to these patterns, as historical claims demonstrate that significant flood damage occurs across multiple zones during heavy rainfall and tropical events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
4% of Duplin County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
208 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 305 claims and $46.8M 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.
39 NOAA storm reports from Duplin County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the North Carolina flood stories →
26 federal disaster declarations since 1984, 9 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 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 7, 2018 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
76 since 1996: 43 flash floods and 10 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 30, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 16, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 11, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 10, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 31, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 28, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Dec 17, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 9, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 30, 2024. Slow moving thunderstorms produced very heavy rain and several areas of flash flooding across Eastern NC.
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 · Jul 11, 2024. Slow moving thunderstorms produced very heavy rain and several areas of flash flooding across Eastern NC.
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 Duplin 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.