313 flood insurance claims·$11.3M 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 Johnston 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 summer thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Johnston County, supported by frequent impacts from tropical systems. Over the past 30 years, NOAA records show 69 flash flood events resulting in 7 deaths, alongside 9 tropical storms resulting in 3 deaths. Recent events illustrate this pattern, including localized flash flooding near Smithfield caused by a lingering frontal boundary on May 5, 2024, and isolated flooding resulting from a low-pressure trough and backdoor cold front on June 15, 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data demonstrate that flood risks extend beyond designated high-risk areas. While high-risk Zone A accounts for the majority of claims with 209 filings averaging $42,010 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches, properties outside mapped special flood hazard areas also experience losses. Specifically, Zone X accounts for 75 claims with an average payout of $55,996 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches, while Zone X unshaded accounts for 14 claims averaging $37,522 with an average water depth of 8 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties in traditional Zone A flood zones as well as moderate-to-low risk Zone X areas, where substantial water depths and claim payouts indicate significant vulnerability to flash flooding and tropical heavy rainfall.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
9% of Johnston County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
230 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 5 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 120 claims and $7.1M 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.
40 NOAA storm reports from Johnston 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, 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 |
| 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.
90 since 1996: 69 flash floods and 7 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 15, 2025 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 5, 2024 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 15, 2023 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 30, 2022 | $1.0M · 3 killed |
| Flash Flood | Sep 10, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 27, 2021 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 27, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 27, 2021 | $100,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 15, 2025. A trough of low pressure over the southern Appalachians combined with a southward moving backdoor cold front in Virginia for the development of scattered to numerous showers and storms over the northern Piedmont and Coastal Plain of central North Carolina in the evening hours. Trees were down due to strong storms in Nash and Halifax, as well as isolated flooding in Johnston County.
Flash Flood · May 5, 2024. Within a moist airmass, a lingering surface frontal boundary led to the development of scattered showers and thunderstorms. Over the Coastal Plain, a storm cell produced localized flash flooding near the town of Smithfield.
Flash Flood · Aug 15, 2023. A trough and associated cold front interacted with a very hot and humid air mass to result in widespread showers and storms across much of central North Carolina in the afternoon and early evening. With adequate wind shear, some of the storms were severe, and they consolidated into a line as they pushed east. There were numerous reports of wind damage across the Piedmont and northern and central Coastal Plain, alo…
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.
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 Johnston 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.