160 flood insurance claims·$975,647 paid·6 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 Perquimans 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 and flash flooding from summer thunderstorms dominate the flood risk profile in Perquimans County. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 10 tropical storms, 9 flash flood events, 7 hurricanes, 5 general floods, and 3 coastal flood events. Recent documented events include a flash flood caused by heavy rain from scattered thunderstorms on July 7, 2024, and minor to moderate tidal flooding driven by strong south winds on April 13, 2020. Additionally, Tropical Storm Ophelia brought heavy winds and rain on September 23, 2023, and Tropical Storm Elsa tracked nearby on July 8, 2021.
Federal Emergency Management Agency records show that flood insurance claims concentrate heavily in Special Flood Hazard Area Zone A, which accounts for 129 claims with an average payout of $11,980 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Properties in Zone X recorded 23 claims with an average payout of $9,233 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch, while Zone X shaded areas recorded 3 claims with an average payout of $9,816 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Zone X unshaded areas logged 4 claims averaging $966 with an average recorded water depth of 5 inches, and Zone V recorded 1 claim with a payout of $13,277 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches.
Homeowners and real estate agents with properties located in Zone A and Zone V, as well as coastal and low-lying areas vulnerable to tropical systems and tidal surges, should pay the closest attention to flood risk and mitigation.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
5% of Perquimans County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
137 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 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 2003, with 82 claims and $706,627 paid, the year of Hurricane Isabel.
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.
11 NOAA storm reports from Perquimans County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the North Carolina flood stories →
24 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 6 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 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Feb 6, 2020 |
| Hurricane Dorian | Sep 1, 2019 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 7, 2018 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
34 since 1996: 9 flash floods, 5 river or area floods and 3 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 7, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 23, 2023 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Jul 8, 2021 | $15,000 |
| Coastal Flood | Apr 13, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Nov 12, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Nov 12, 2020 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 4, 2020 | $500,000 |
| Coastal Flood | Aug 4, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 7, 2024. Scattered thunderstorms in advance of a frontal boundary produced heavy rain which caused flash flooding across portions of northeast North Carolina.
Tropical Storm · Sep 23, 2023. Tropical Storm Ophelia made landfall in Emerald Island, NC (in the southeast part of the state) at 6:20 AM on Saturday, 9/23 as a tropical storm with 70 mph winds. Ophelia gradually weakened (and lost tropical characteristics) as it tracked northward toward the Wakefield CWA during the day on Saturday. Ophelia tracked northward roughly along the I-95 corridor during the afternoon and evening hours on Saturday, rea…
Tropical Storm · Jul 8, 2021. The center of Tropical Storm Elsa tracked north just inland of the Middle Atlantic Coast from Thursday morning through Thursday night, July 8th. The Tropical Storm produced tropical storm force winds and associated wind damage across portions of northeast North Carolina.
Coastal Flood · Apr 13, 2020. Very strong south winds produced rapid rises in water levels in areas from Edenton to Elizabeth City (adjacent to the northern side of the Albemarle Sound and associated tidal rivers). Elizabeth City saw the worst of the (measured) tidal flooding, where water levels peaked a few tenths of a foot below major flood stage. Minor to moderate tidal flooding occurred over portions of Chowan, Perquimans, and Pasquotank c…
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 Perquimans 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.