1,193 flood insurance claims·$46.6M paid·8 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 Wayne 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 summer thunderstorms and tropical systems dominates the flood history of Wayne County, accounting for 50 flash flood events, 6 hurricanes, 5 tropical storms, and 5 general floods over the last 30 years. NOAA storm records document severe impacts from recent events, including multiple heavy rain episodes in August 2025 and feeder bands from Tropical Depression Debby in August 2024 that brought widespread rainfall and flooding to the region.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that property damage occurs across multiple risk zones. Zone A leads with 864 claims averaging $50,744 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X properties also face documented risk, recording 237 claims with an average payout of $43,661 and an average water depth of 4 inches, alongside claims in shaded and unshaded Zone X variants.
Homeowners and real estate agents in Wayne County should pay the most attention to properties located within designated Zone A high-risk areas, where claim frequency and average payout amounts are highest. Additionally, residents in Zone X properties must remain aware of flood risks, as significant numbers of insurance claims and water damage have also been recorded outside of primary high-risk zones.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
6% of Wayne County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
919 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 2016, with 456 claims and $29.6M paid, the year of Hurricane Matthew.
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.
32 NOAA storm reports from Wayne County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the North Carolina flood stories →
28 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 8 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.
66 since 1996: 50 flash floods and 5 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 11, 2025 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 1, 2025 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 30, 2024 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 30, 2024 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 27, 2024 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 27, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | $3,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | $5,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
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 · Aug 1, 2025. An atypical early August backdoor cold front settled south through North Carolina, as a large cool area of high pressure centered over the Great Lakes nosed southward into central North Carolina. The passage of multiple upper level disturbances over eastern North America coupled with high moisture content and moderate instability supported numerous showers and storms. Sporadic downed trees and power lines and mino…
Flash Flood · Aug 30, 2024. A frontal boundary moving south from east-central Virginia into central North Carolina combined with a disturbance aloft and produced numerous showers and storms in the afternoon to late evening hours. Storms initially formed over the eastern Piedmont and Coastal Plain, congealing and tracking west-southwestward in the evening hours over the western and southern Piedmont and Sandhills. Numerous downed trees and po…
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.
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 Wayne 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.