116 flood insurance claims·$2.5M 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 Harnett 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 heavy rainfall and severe weather systems dominates the flood history of Harnett County, accounting for 33 of the 50 total recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside tropical storms and hurricanes. Historical impacts are exemplified by Tropical Depression Debby in August 2024, which brought feeder bands and heavy rainfall of 4 to 6 inches or more to the region, and Hurricane Ian in September 2022, which delivered tropical storm-force wind gusts and heavy rain resulting in wind damage and power outages.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood risks extend across multiple zones, with Zone X recording 57 claims averaging a $25,661 payout and an average recorded water depth of 15 inches. Zone A accounts for 53 claims with an average payout of $33,336 and an average recorded water depth of 15 inches. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 3 claims with an average payout of $29,404 and an average water depth of 2 inches, Zone V recorded 2 claims averaging a $19,694 payout with an average water depth of 2 inches, and Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 1 claim with a $308 payout and an average water depth of 0 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents managing properties in Zone A and Zone X should pay the closest attention to these flood risks given the substantial claim frequencies and water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
2% of Harnett County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
56 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 15 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 44 claims and $1.0M 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.
18 NOAA storm reports from Harnett County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the North Carolina flood stories →
23 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 |
| 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.
50 since 1996: 33 flash floods and 6 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | $5,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 30, 2022 | $750,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 27, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 31, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 19, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 15, 2020 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 3, 2020 | $500,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
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…
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 · Jul 27, 2021. A weak mid level disturbance moved across the area during the early morning hours, interacting with a very moist airmass. This allowed for a large cluster of slow moving showers and storms to develop and produced heavy rain and several reports of flash flooding across portions of the Coastal Plain and eastern Sandhills.
Flash Flood · Aug 31, 2020. Warm moist air lifted along a wavy stationary front. This combined with slow moving and merging thunderstorms resulted in heavy rain and flash flooding, including a dam break in Johnston County and two fatalities.
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 Harnett 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.