159 flood insurance claims·$3.1M paid·6 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 Hertford 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 rain events dominates the flood risk profile in Hertford County, accounting for 16 of the 28 recorded storm events over the last 30 years alongside tropical storms, general floods, and hurricanes. Recent events illustrate this pattern, including a flash flood in July 2024 caused by scattered thunderstorms along a frontal boundary, and another flash flood in September 2024 resulting from heavy rain when moisture from Tropical Cyclone Helene overran a frontal boundary.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims filed across multiple zones, indicating widespread exposure beyond officially designated high-risk areas. Properties in Zone X recorded 67 claims with an average payout of $18,469 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Properties in Zone A experienced 49 claims with an average payout of $42,184 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Additionally, Zone X Unshaded recorded 35 claims with an average payout of $10,189 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches, while Zone Unknown recorded 8 claims with an average payout of $6,013 and an average recorded water depth of 21 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists in Hertford County should pay the closest attention to properties in FEMA Zone A, which see the highest average payouts and deeper average water accumulation, as well as properties in Zone X and unshaded areas where cumulative claims demonstrate that flash flooding occurs outside of traditional high-risk zones.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
42% of Hertford County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
84 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 3 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 2001, with 43 claims and $573,414 paid.
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 Hertford County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the North Carolina flood stories →
28 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 6 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.
28 since 1996: 16 flash floods and 4 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Sep 27, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 18, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 27, 2023 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Jul 8, 2021 | $15,000 |
| Flood | Nov 12, 2020 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 4, 2020 | $500,000 |
| Flood | Sep 21, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 8, 2016 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Sep 27, 2024. The combination of moisture from Tropical Cyclone Helene overrunning a frontal boundary produced heavy rain which caused flash flooding across portions of northeast North Carolina.
Flash Flood · Jul 18, 2024. Scattered thunderstorms along a frontal boundary produced heavy rain which caused flash flooding across portions of northeast North Carolina.
Flash Flood · Aug 27, 2023. Scattered thunderstorms near a frontal boundary produced heavy rain which caused flash flooding across portions of northeast North Carolina.
Tropical Storm · Jul 8, 2021. The center of Tropical Storm Elsa tracked north just inland of the Middle Atlantic Coast from Thursday morning through Thursday night, July 8th. The Tropical Storm produced tropical storm force winds and associated wind damage across portions of northeast North Carolina.
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 Hertford 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.