63 flood insurance claims·$1.1M 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 Lee 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 character of Lee County, supported by NOAA Storm Events Database records of 25 flash flood events alongside four tropical storms, four hurricanes, and four standard floods over the last 30 years. Recent recorded events include flash flooding produced by a stalled cold front in June 2025 and by an area of low pressure tracking across North Carolina in June 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data demonstrate that flood risks extend across multiple zones. Properties in high-risk Zone A experienced 38 claims with an average payout of $26,135 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Moderate-to-low risk Zone X properties recorded 20 claims averaging $15,831 with an average water depth of 3 inches, while Zone V properties registered four claims averaging $4,952 with an average water depth of 4 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located in Zone A, where claim frequency and water depths are highest, while remaining aware that properties in Zone X also face measurable flood and financial risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Lee County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
42 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 6 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 13 claims and $557,650 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.
12 NOAA storm reports from Lee 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, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 21, 2026 |
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 25, 2024 |
| Tropical Storm 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 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
37 since 1996: 25 flash floods and 4 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 16, 2025 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 16, 2025 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 5, 2025 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 5, 2025 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 30, 2022 | $750,000 |
| Flash Flood | Nov 12, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 19, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Sep 17, 2018 | $5.4M |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 16, 2025. A southward moving cold front out of Virginia stalled out near the North Carolina border. Storms from the late evening on the 15th persisted into the early morning hours of the 16th along and south of the front, producing isolated flash flooding. The stalled boundary then fueled additional numerous showers and storms in the afternoon and evening hours of the 16th along small scale boundaries. Several downed trees…
Flash Flood · Jun 5, 2025. An area of low pressure tracked across southern and eastern sections of North Carolina. Scattered showers and storms developed along and ahead of the low pressure system, producing isolated flash flooding in Lee 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 · 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 Lee 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.