Enter any address in New Hanover County, North Carolina to see its FEMA flood zone
Flash flooding from slow-moving storms is the most frequent flood event in New Hanover County, NC, with 113 recorded instances in the last 30 years. These events can be exacerbated by tropical systems, as seen with the extensive flash flooding reported in September 2024 due to a slow-moving tropical disturbance that brought historic rainfall. Other flood types, including tropical storms, coastal floods, and hurricanes, have also occurred.
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has processed over 9,000 claims in New Hanover County. Properties in Zone A have the highest number of claims at 6,731, with an average payout of $14,357 and an average water depth of 2.7 feet. Zone X, which includes unshaded and shaded areas, has seen fewer claims but higher average payouts and water depths, particularly in Zone X_UNSHADED where the average payout was $31,210 and water depth reached 5.6 feet.
Homeowners in coastal areas, as well as those in flood zones A, V, X, X_SHADED, and X_UNSHADED, should pay close attention to flood risk. Properties located in these zones are more susceptible to flood damage, as indicated by the volume and value of NFIP claims.
Summary generated from NOAA storm narratives and NFIP claim data for this county. Not predictive.
85 NOAA storm reports from this county describe what happened, in the words of the meteorologists who were there.
New Hanover County, North Carolina has recorded 217 flood-related events since 1996 according to NOAA's Storm Events Database, including 113 flash floods and 62 river or area floods. The county has received 32 federal disaster declarations. Enter any address above to check its FEMA flood zone designation.
FEMA Disaster Declarations (1984–2026)
Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries.
| Declaration | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Winter Storm | Jan 21, 2026 |
| Hurricane Helene | Tropical Storm | Sep 25, 2024 |
| Potential Tropical Cyclone Eight | Tropical Storm | Sep 16, 2024 |
| Tropical Storm Debby | Tropical Storm | Aug 5, 2024 |
| Hurricane Ian | Hurricane | Sep 28, 2022 |
| Hurricane Isaias | Hurricane | Jul 31, 2020 |
| Covid-19 | Biological | Jan 20, 2020 |
| Covid-19 Pandemic | Biological | Jan 20, 2020 |
| Hurricane Dorian | Hurricane | Sep 1, 2019 |
| Hurricane Florence | Hurricane | Sep 7, 2018 |
NOAA Storm Events Database (1996–2025)
Source: NOAA National Weather Service Storm Events Database.
| Type | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 6, 2025 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | Sep 16, 2024 | 15.00K |
| Flash Flood | Sep 16, 2024 | 10.00K |
| Flash Flood | Sep 16, 2024 | 50.00K |
| Flash Flood | Sep 16, 2024 | 2.00K |
| Flash Flood | Sep 16, 2024 | 3.00K |
| Flash Flood | Aug 12, 2024 | 1.00K |
| Flash Flood | Aug 9, 2024 | 3.00K |
| Flash Flood | Aug 9, 2024 | 1.00K |
| Flash Flood | Aug 9, 2024 | 0.00K |
Flash Flood — Aug 6, 2025
Excessive rainfall develop from slow moving storms that tended to train over the same area. Precipitable water values were an excessive 2.2 inches.
Flash Flood — Sep 16, 2024
Potential Tropical Cyclone #8 located off the SC coast was classified by the National Hurricane Center on September 15 and a Tropical Storm Warning was issued for the entire coast of southeast NC and northeast SC at that time. The system slowly moved toward the coast but never became organized enough to be classified as a tropical (or subtropical) cyclone, eventually moving inland around the NC...
Flash Flood — Aug 12, 2024
Deep moisture and a stalled frontal boundary left the area very susceptible to flash flooding from isolated, slow moving storms.
Flash Flood — Aug 9, 2024
After making landfall in the Big Bend area of Florida as a Category 1 hurricane on August 5, Debby weakened to a tropical storm as it slowly moved across southeastern Georgia and offshore before making another landfall along the central SC coast between Charleston and Georgetown. The storm then moved northwest to near the SC/NC border and weakened to a tropical depression on August 8 before qui...
Flood — Aug 9, 2024
Deep moisture and a stalled frontal boundary left the area very susceptible to flash flooding from isolated, slow moving storms.
Source: NOAA National Weather Service Storm Events Database.
Source: OpenFEMA NFIP Individual Claims (2.25M records analyzed).
FEMA assigns flood zone designations to areas in New Hanover County, North Carolina:
AE High Risk — 1% annual chance of flooding. Insurance required.
VE Very High Risk — Coastal flooding with wave action.
X (Shaded) Moderate Risk — 500-year floodplain.
X Low Risk — Outside major floodplains.
Properties in New Hanover County, North Carolina that are in FEMA-designated Special Flood Hazard Areas (zones A and V) with federally backed mortgages are required to carry flood insurance.
Even outside high-risk zones, flood insurance is recommended. From 2014 to 2024, nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area.
Visit FloodSmart.gov to find an agent and get a quote.