34 flood insurance claims·$282,596 paid·5 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 Northampton 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 summer thunderstorms and tropical systems dominates the flood character of Northampton County, NC. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 17 flash flood events, alongside 6 floods, 4 tropical storms, and 3 hurricanes. Recent events include heavy rain and flash flooding from slow-moving storms on July 15, 2025, as well as moisture from Tropical Cyclone Debby on August 8, 2024, and Tropical Cyclone Helene on September 27, 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data demonstrates risk across multiple zones. Zone A accounts for 18 claims with an average payout of $11,330 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Zone X accounts for 16 claims with an average payout of $8,443 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in Zone A, where higher payouts and greater average water depths indicate a more significant flood hazard, while recognizing that moderate risk also extends into Zone X.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 2 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 1999, with 10 claims and $65,390 paid, the year of Hurricane Floyd and Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations.
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 Northampton County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the North Carolina flood stories →
25 federal disaster declarations since 1988, 5 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.
30 since 1996: 17 flash floods and 6 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 27, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Nov 12, 2020 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 4, 2020 | $150,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 28, 2017 | — |
| Flood | Sep 21, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 8, 2016 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 15, 2025. A moist and unstable air mass was in place on July 15. This allowed for scattered, slow-moving storms to move across portions of interior northeast North Carolina. These storms produced heavy rain and flash flooding.
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 · Aug 8, 2024. Tropical Cyclone Debby tracking northward from the Carolinas across western Virginia produced heavy rain which caused flash flooding across portions of northeast North Carolina.
Flood · Nov 12, 2020. Deep tropical moisture streaming northward into the Mid Atlantic region combined with the approach of a cold front and low pressure, produced heavy rain which caused flooding 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 Northampton 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.