154 flood insurance claims·$2.8M 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 Moore 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 dominates the flood risk profile in Moore County, NC. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 51 flash flood events, alongside 4 general floods, 4 tropical storms (resulting in 1 death), and 4 hurricanes.
Severe weather impacts are illustrated by events such as the flash floods recorded in July 2025, when the remnants of Tropical Storm Chantal tracked into central North Carolina and produced record rainfall of up to 11 inches in parts of the Piedmont, causing widespread flooding.
Homeowners and real estate agents should pay close attention to properties located across different FEMA flood zones, where historical National Flood Insurance Program claims reflect distinct risks. Properties in Zone A have accounted for 87 claims with an average payout of $29,952 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X have experienced 60 claims with an average payout of $26,285 and a higher average recorded water depth of 28 inches. An additional 4 claims were filed in Zone UNKNOWN, averaging a $26,799 payout with an average water depth of 2 inches, and 3 claims in Zone X_UNSHADED averaged a $3,533 payout with an average water depth of 1 inch.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
3% of Moore County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
90 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 12 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 54 claims and $802,095 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.
32 NOAA storm reports from Moore 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 |
| Tropical Depression Chantal | Jul 6, 2025 |
| 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 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
63 since 1996: 51 flash floods and 4 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 13, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 13, 2025 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 6, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 6, 2025 | $5.0M |
| Flash Flood | Jul 6, 2025 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 6, 2025 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | $5,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 13, 2025. A slow moving area of low pressure across Missouri brought deep and copious moisture across the southeastern United States and the Carolinas. Scattered to numerous showers and storms developed in the early afternoon and peaked in the early evening hours before waning by the late evening. Storms merged with an inland penetrating sea-breeze, leading to several flash flooding reports in Moore and Stanly Counties.
Flash Flood · Jul 6, 2025. Tropical Storm Chantal made landfall over northeastern South Carolina during the morning hours of July 6. The remnants of Chantal then tracked west-northwest into portions of central North Carolina, stalling out over the area before tracking east-northeast into Virginia by the 7th of July. Catastrophic flash flooding occurred from record rainfall of up to 11 inches in some spots of the Piedmont, included 6 flash f…
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.
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 Moore 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.