1,642 flood insurance claims·$31.3M paid·4 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 Wake 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 Wake County, accounting for 281 out of 304 total recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 10 general floods, 7 tropical storms, and 6 hurricanes. Recent historical events illustrate this persistent threat, including isolated flash flooding driven by a deep mid-level trough and cold front on March 16, 2025, as well as multiple reports of flash flooding across the eastern Piedmont and northern Coastal Plain on August 6, 2025, tied to upper-level disturbances and lingering tropical moisture.
National Flood Insurance Program records demonstrate that flood impacts extend well beyond designated high-risk areas. Zone A properties have logged the highest claim volume with 994 claims, averaging a $27,599 payout and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. However, properties outside traditional high-risk zones also experience significant vulnerabilities; Zone X properties recorded 499 claims with an average payout of $19,753 and an average water depth of 14 inches, while unshaded Zone X properties recorded 59 claims with an average payout of $35,176 and an average water depth of 6 inches. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties in Zone A along waterways, as well as properties in Zone X and unshaded Zone X where moderate to deep standing water occurs during severe storms.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
8% of Wake County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
1,092 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 9 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 1996, with 369 claims and $8.3M paid, the year of Hurricane Fran.
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.
165 NOAA storm reports from Wake County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the North Carolina flood stories →
26 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 4 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.
304 since 1996: 281 flash floods and 10 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Mar 16, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 14, 2025 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 14, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 11, 2025 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 11, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 11, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 9, 2025 | $4,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 9, 2025 | $2,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Mar 16, 2025. A deep mid-level trough and associated cold front approached from the west on the 16th. Ahead of the trough/front, surface dewpoints in the 60s spread into central North Carolina, with strong low-level and deep-layer shear. Two rounds of severe weather occurred from mid morning through the evening hours. Several reports of damaging winds and large hail were reported, along with isolated flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Aug 14, 2025. Within a very moist airmass, weak disturbances aloft from a trough to the northwest and tied to a southward moving cold front, showers and storms developed in the evening hours. Several reports of flash flooding were reported across Wake County.
Flash Flood · Aug 11, 2025. A weak frontal zone was oriented southwest to northeast across central North Carolina. Scattered showers and storms developed during the late afternoon and evening within a highly anomalous moisture environment. Some training storms led to several instances of flash flooding over the eastern and northeastern Piedmont, especially across Wake County.
Flash Flood · Jul 9, 2025. A weak trough of low pressure over the Ohio and Tennessee valley region was in place, along with very anomalous moisture over the Carolinas. Scattered showers and storms over the Appalachians become widespread as they moved into central North Carolina in the evening and overnight hours. Numerous wind and flash flooding reports were recorded over the region.
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 Wake 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.