4,330 flood insurance claims·$94.6M paid·12 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 Pamlico 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.
Tropical storms, flash floods, and hurricanes dominate the flood character of Pamlico County, with NOAA records showing 12 tropical storms, 12 flash flood events, and 11 hurricanes over the last 30 years, alongside storm surge, coastal flood, and river flood events. Recent activity includes flash flooding near Merritt from heavy rain and thunderstorms in July 2022, and tropical storm conditions from Hurricane Isaias in August 2020 and Hurricane Michael in October 2018.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates widespread risk across designated zones. Zone A accounts for the highest volume with 3,810 claims, an average payout of $24,791, and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Zone X properties recorded 447 claims with an average payout of $19,787 and an average water depth of 3 inches. Zone V properties experienced higher severity with 14 claims averaging a $49,249 payout and an average water depth of 3 inches, while small numbers of claims occurred in unshaded Zone X and unknown zones.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located in Zone A and Zone V, where claim volume and payouts are highest due to vulnerability from tropical systems, hurricanes, and storm surge.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Pamlico County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
3,846 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 2011, with 1,332 claims and $39.0M paid, the year of Hurricane Irene.
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.
19 NOAA storm reports from Pamlico County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the North Carolina flood stories →
30 federal disaster declarations since 1988, 12 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.
44 since 1996: 12 flash floods, 1 river or area floods and 8 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 14, 2025 | — |
| Storm Surge/Tide | Sep 23, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 15, 2022 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 4, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 15, 2018 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 13, 2018 | $29.9M |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 11, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 8, 2016 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 14, 2025. Slow moving thunderstorms produced isolated areas of flash flooding.
Storm Surge/Tide · Sep 23, 2023. On Thursday, September 21st, an area of low pressure begin to develop and get more organized off the Southeast US coastline. That low continued to deepen and become more organized, eventually taking on tropical characteristics, becoming the 15th named storm of the 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season on Friday, September 22nd. Ophelia developed into a strong tropical storm and moved north over the next couple of days, m…
Flash Flood · Jul 15, 2022. An area of heavy rain and thunderstorms moved over the same area of Pamlico County on the morning of July 15th to produce flash flooding near Merritt. The previous night a similar pattern produced flash flooding in Greenville.
Tropical Storm · Aug 4, 2020. Hurricane Isaias originated from a vigorous tropical wave off the coast of Africa that was first identified by the National Hurricane Center on July 23, 2020. The tropical wave gradually became more organized, and became Tropical Storm Isaias on July 30. Isaias marked the earliest ninth named storm on record, surpassing 2005's Hurricane Irene by eight days. Isaias strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane the next…
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 Pamlico 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.