148 flood insurance claims·$6.1M paid·9 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 Sampson 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 frequent severe weather events dominates the flood risk profile in Sampson County, North Carolina, accounting for 54 of the 68 total recorded flood events over the last 30 years alongside multiple tropical systems and hurricanes.
Recent weather impacts illustrate this pattern. In July 2024, a cold front dropped several inches of rain that led to flash flooding across Sampson County. Later that year in August 2024, Tropical Depression Debby dropped heavy rain via feeder bands, and in September 2024, the remnants of Hurricane Helene brought widespread rainfall totals of 2 to 4 inches alongside wind gusts of 25 to 45 mph.
National Flood Insurance Program records show that flood risks extend beyond high-risk areas. Properties in Zone A experienced 72 claims with an average payout of $44,765 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X recorded 65 claims with an average payout of $53,342 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents in both designated high-risk zones and moderate-to-low risk Zone X should pay close attention to these historical flood patterns and insurance data when assessing property risk.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
1% of Sampson County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
73 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 4 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 2018, with 52 claims and $4.0M paid, the year of Hurricane Florence.
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.
34 NOAA storm reports from Sampson County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the North Carolina flood stories →
25 federal disaster declarations since 1984, 9 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 |
| Tropical Storm Eta | Nov 12, 2020 |
| Hurricane Isaias | Jul 31, 2020 |
| Hurricane Dorian | Sep 1, 2019 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 7, 2018 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
68 since 1996: 54 flash floods and 3 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Sep 27, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 10, 2024 | $4,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 1, 2024 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 1, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 31, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 19, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Dec 17, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Sep 27, 2024. Hurricane Helene weakened to a strong tropical storm on the morning of 27 September across northeast Georgia. Helene continued to track to the west and northwest into the Tennessee Valley. Widespread rainfall totals of 2-4 inches of rain fell over central North Carolina, along with wind gusts of 25-45 mph. Additionally, four tornadoes occurred, with the strongest an EF3, touching down over Rocky Mount in Nash County.
Flash Flood · Aug 10, 2024. A stalled cold front focused showers and thunderstorms over the Sandhills to Coastal Plain of central North Carolina. Storms over Sampson County led to isolated flash flooding, particularly over the southern half of the county.
Flash Flood · Aug 8, 2024. Tropical Depression Debby slowly made its way through Florida, off the South Carolina coast, then back inland through the western Piedmont of North Carolina during the evening hours of 8 August 2024. Ahead of the storm, numerous feeder bands brought periods of heavy rain to central North Carolina, resulting in widespread 4-6 inch rainfall amounts across the western Piedmont, with higher amounts to the east. In add…
Flash Flood · Jul 1, 2024. A wave of scattered to numerous showers and storms developed from the northern Coastal Plain into the eastern Sandhills and southern Coastal Plain late in the evening of June 30th and continued into the morning hours of July 1st. This wave of storms was along a cold front sliding south from the Ohio Valley. Several inches of rain led to flash flooding in Sampson County.
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 Sampson 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.