1,205 flood insurance claims·$35.9M paid·10 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 Pitt 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 severe weather and tropical systems dominates the flood risk profile in Pitt County, NC, accounting for 63 out of 97 total flood-related events recorded in the NOAA Storm Events Database over the last 30 years. Hurricanes and tropical storms have also driven significant impacts, including 11 tropical storm events with 3 deaths and 8 hurricane events with 6 deaths.
Recent events illustrate these hazards. In August 2024, the circulation and strong moisture advection from Tropical Storm Debby brought heavy rainfall to the region following its landfall in Florida and subsequent movement northward. Later that month, on August 30, 2024, slow-moving thunderstorms produced very heavy rain and widespread flash flooding across eastern North Carolina.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data shows that risk extends beyond high-risk zones, though Zone A properties face the heaviest burden with 901 claims averaging $39,424 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. However, properties in Zone X also report substantial vulnerability, with 216 claims averaging $20,296 and an average water depth of 2 inches, alongside additional claims in shaded and unshaded variants. Homeowners in designated Special Flood Hazard Areas as well as properties located in moderate-to-low risk Zone X areas should pay close attention to historical claim patterns and consider maintaining flood insurance.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
8% of Pitt County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
985 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 5 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 597 claims and $26.2M 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.
38 NOAA storm reports from Pitt County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the North Carolina flood stories →
30 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 10 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.
97 since 1996: 63 flash floods and 15 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 16, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 11, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 30, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 22, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 11, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 23, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 16, 2025. Slow moving thunderstorms produced areas of significant flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Jun 15, 2025. Slow moving thunderstorms produced areas of significant flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Aug 11, 2025. Slow moving thunderstorms produced isolated areas of flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Aug 30, 2024. Slow moving thunderstorms produced very heavy rain and several areas of flash flooding across Eastern NC.
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 Pitt 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.