23 flood insurance claims·$249,017 paid·4 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 Franklin 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 Franklin County. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 41 flash flood events resulting in 1 death, alongside 6 hurricane events with 1 death, 5 tropical storm events, and 5 general flood events.
Recent activity is documented in NOAA storm narratives. For example, on August 6, 2025, upper-level disturbances interacting with a persistent weak trough and a wedge front produced flash flooding across the eastern Piedmont and northern Coastal Plain. Subsequent events occurred on August 11, 2025, when a weak frontal zone and anomalous moisture led to training storms and localized flash flooding across the region.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that Zone A carries the highest risk and frequency, recording 17 claims with an average payout of $16,537 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Zone X recorded 4 claims with an average payout of $6,865 and an average water depth of 2 inches, while Zone UNKNOWN recorded 2 claims with an average payout of $1,883 and an average water depth of 0 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents with properties located in Zone A should pay the closest attention to this flood 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 2 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 1999, with 6 claims and $80,456 paid, the year of Hurricane Floyd and Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations.
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.
25 NOAA storm reports from Franklin County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the North Carolina flood stories →
23 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 4 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.
57 since 1996: 41 flash floods and 5 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 11, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 11, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 6, 2025 | $3,000 |
| Flood | Jul 12, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | $4,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 3, 2024 | $5,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 11, 2025. A weak frontal zone was oriented southwest to northeast across central North Carolina. Scattered showers and storms developed during the late afternoon and evening within a highly anomalous moisture environment. Some training storms led to several instances of flash flooding over the eastern and northeastern Piedmont, especially across Wake County.
Flash Flood · Aug 6, 2025. Within cool northeasterly surface flow, several upper-level disturbances tracked across central North Carolina from a persistent weak trough of low pressure over the Ohio Valley region. Copious amounts of moisture remained from the 5th of August. A wedge front was also in place along Interstate 95. Several reports of flash flooding were reported over the eastern Piedmont and northern Coastal Plain, including two f…
Flood · Jul 12, 2024. A stalled frontal boundary over eastern sections of North Carolina retrograded westward during the afternoon and evening as a surface low formed along the front. Ongoing showers and storms become more numerous in the late morning and into the early evening hours. Heavy embedded storms were particularly prevalent across Wake and Orange Counties, leading to isolated flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Aug 8, 2024. Tropical Depression Debby slowly made its way through Florida, off the South Carolina coast, then back inland through the western Piedmont of North Carolina during the evening hours of 8 August 2024. Ahead of the storm, numerous feeder bands brought periods of heavy rain to central North Carolina, resulting in widespread 4-6 inch rainfall amounts across the western Piedmont, with higher amounts to the east. In add…
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 Franklin 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.