795 flood insurance claims·$28.2M paid·5 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 Edgecombe 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 severe storms and tropical systems dominates the flood risk profile in Edgecombe County, supported by 38 flash flood events, 6 tropical storms, 6 hurricanes, and 4 general floods recorded over the last 30 years. Flash flooding has resulted in eight deaths during this period.
Recent events illustrate these hazards. In November 2020, moisture from Tropical Storm Eta and a slow-moving cold front brought 4 to 6 inches of rain—with nearly 10 inches near Rocky Mount—causing widespread flooding. Later, the remnants of Hurricane Ian brought heavy rainfall and tropical storm-force winds in September 2022, followed by widespread 2-to-4-inch rainfall totals from Hurricane Helene in September 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims spanning multiple zones, indicating risk extends beyond designated high-risk areas. Zone A accounts for the highest claim volume with 523 claims averaging an 8-inch recorded water depth and $32,605 payouts. However, properties in Zone X unshaded have also experienced significant impacts, logging 27 claims with an average recorded water depth of 18 inches and average payouts of $71,779. Homeowners in both high-risk Special Flood Hazard Areas and moderate-to-low risk Zone X properties should pay close attention to this flood exposure.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
10% of Edgecombe County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
585 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 7 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 333 claims and $16.3M 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.
19 NOAA storm reports from Edgecombe County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the North Carolina flood stories →
27 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 5 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.
54 since 1996: 38 flash floods and 4 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Sep 27, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 30, 2022 | $750,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 3, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Nov 12, 2020 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 4, 2020 | $1.0M |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 6, 2019 | $500,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 31, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 14, 2018 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
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.
Tropical Storm · Sep 30, 2022. Hurricane Ian made landfall along the South Carolina coast near Georgetown during the early afternoon hours of September 30, 2022. Widespread wind gusts over tropical storm force and heavy rainfall occurred across much of central North Carolina through the afternoon and evening hours. There were numerous reports of wind damage and power outages as a result of the storm.
Flash Flood · Jun 3, 2021. A very moist south to southeasterly flow ahead of a cold front an associated mid/upper level trough allowed for very moist air to advect into the area from the Bahamas. Numerous showers and thunderstorms developed across the Coastal Plain, Sandhills, and Eastern Piedmont of central North Carolina. This resulted in isolated flash flooding and water rescues in Whitakers, North Carolina.
Flash Flood · Nov 12, 2020. Moisture from Tropical Storm Eta was drawn northward into the Mid Atlantic during the day of Wednesday November 11th. Meanwhile, a slow moving cold front approached the area and made its way through central North Carolina during the day Thursday, resulting in widespread showers and isolated thunderstorms. Rainfall totals were generally in the 4 to 6 inches range, although some spots near Rocky Mount saw close to 1…
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 Edgecombe 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.