20 flood insurance claims·$560,118 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 Scotland 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 events dominates the flood risk profile in Scotland County, driven by tropical systems and heavy summer rainfall. Over the past 30 years, NOAA records show 23 flash flood events resulting in two deaths, alongside 5 tropical storms, 4 hurricanes, and 2 general floods. Recent impacts are illustrated by events such as Tropical Storm Chantal in July 2025 and Tropical Depression Debby in August 2024, both of which brought heavy rainfall and widespread flooding to the region.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data demonstrate that flood risks extend across multiple zones. Properties in Zone A experienced 8 claims with an average payout of $32,589 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Additionally, properties with unknown zones recorded 3 claims averaging a $34,000 payout with an average water depth of 5 inches. Even lower-risk areas are vulnerable, as Zone X properties filed 9 claims averaging a $25,555 payout with an average water depth of 2 inches.
Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone A and unmapped or unknown zones should pay the closest attention to flood preparedness, given their higher average payouts and greater recorded water depths. However, properties in Zone X also face measurable risk and should not overlook potential flood hazards.
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 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 16 claims and $413,909 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.
14 NOAA storm reports from Scotland County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the North Carolina flood stories →
19 federal disaster declarations since 1984, 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.
34 since 1996: 23 flash floods and 2 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 6, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 24, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | $5,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 30, 2022 | $1.0M |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 5, 2019 | $500,000 |
| Flood | Sep 17, 2018 | $5.4M |
| Flash Flood | Sep 15, 2018 | — · 2 killed |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 6, 2025. Tropical Storm Chantal made landfall over northeastern South Carolina during the morning hours of July 6. The remnants of Chantal then tracked west-northwest into portions of central North Carolina, stalling out over the area before tracking east-northeast into Virginia by the 7th of July. Catastrophic flash flooding occurred from record rainfall of up to 11 inches in some spots of the Piedmont, included 6 flash f…
Flash Flood · Jul 24, 2024. A stalled frontal boundary across Virginia remained in place early in the morning on the 24th of July. Storms from earlier in the mid to late evening hours of the 23rd continued into the overnight hours and into the morning of the 24th of July. These lingering storms produced isolated flash flooding across Scotland 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…
Tropical Storm · Sep 30, 2022. Hurricane Ian made landfall along the South Carolina coast near Georgetown during the early afternoon hours of September 30, 2022. Widespread wind gusts over tropical storm force and heavy rainfall occurred across much of central North Carolina through the afternoon and evening hours. There were numerous reports of wind damage and power outages as a result of the storm.
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 Scotland 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.