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Avery County, NC flood insurance claims history
288 claims under the National Flood Insurance Program have been filed for flood losses in Avery County since 1979, and FEMA has paid out $15.2M on them. The worst year was 2024 with 137 claims. Avery County ranks #36 of 100 in North Carolina by claim count.
At a glance
- 28% of claims came from buildings outside FEMA’s high-risk flood zones (B, C or X), where lenders usually do not require flood insurance.
- 47% of all claims trace to a single event — Hurricane Helene (2024), which paid $12.5M here.
- Flood claims were filed in 5 of the last 10 years.
- More flood claims than 65% of the 100 North Carolina counties with any claims on file — and more than 4 of its 5 neighbors.
- ZIP 28657 has the most claims in the county (158, 55%). Check your ZIP →
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Pick your ZIP code to see how many insured buildings there filed flood claims, in which years, and how much was paid — and which named floods those claims came from, which a county-wide list cannot tell you. Narrow by year or flood zone too. Everything runs in your browser — nothing you pick is sent anywhere. Have a street address? Run the printable flood check for it →
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Flood claims by year
Claims by year of loss, 1979–2024. Spikes line up with named storms and major rain events; quiet years still see claims from local flash flooding.
Biggest flood events in Avery County
| Flood event (FEMA name) | Claims | Paid | Avg / claim | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene | 135 | $12.5M | $92K | 2024 |
| Tropical Storm Ivan | 46 | $1.3M | $29K | 2004 |
| Tropical Storm Fred | 7 | $27K | $4K | 2021 |
| Hurricane Michael | 1 | $10K | $10K | 2018 |
| October severe storms | 1 | $0 | $0 | 2015 |
| Hurricane Isabel | 1 | $3K | $3K | 2003 |
66% of claims here fall under these 6 entries. “FEMA general label” groups many separate floods under one name; the rest of the claims have no event name.
Claims by flood zone
Not sure what the zone letters mean? Flood zones explained →
| Flood zone at rating | Claims | Paid | Avg / claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| High-risk A zones (A, AE, AH, AO, A1–A30, AR) | 204 | $11.9M | $58K |
| Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X) | 81 | $3.3M | $41K |
| Zone not recorded | 3 | $845 | $282 |
What caused the flooding
| Cause of damage (as coded by FEMA) | Claims | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Stream, river or lake overflow | 157 | 55% |
| Accumulation of rainfall or snowmelt | 65 | 23% |
| Other causes | 47 | 16% |
| Tidal water overflow (storm surge) | 12 | 4% |
| Not recorded | 7 | 2% |
Flood claims by ZIP code in Avery County
14 ZIP codes in Avery County have at least one NFIP claim. ZIP codes can cross county lines; this table counts only claims FEMA assigned to Avery County.
| 28657 | 158 | $10.9M | 55% | 11 | 2024 |
| 28646 | 49 | $1.5M | 17% | 11 | 2024 |
| 28604 | 35 | $708K | 12% | 7 | 2024 |
| 28622 | 20 | $1.3M | 7% | 3 | 2024 |
| 28616 | 6 | $13K | 2% | 4 | 2024 |
| 28662 | 6 | $320K | 2% | 2 | 2024 |
| 28652 | 4 | $16K | 1% | 2 | 2024 |
| 28664 | 2 | $36K | 1% | 1 | 2004 |
| 28777 | 2 | $130K | 1% | 2 | 2024 |
| 28463 | 2 | $40K | 1% | 1 | 2004 |
| 28605 | 1 | $0 | 0% | 1 | 2024 |
| 28679 | 1 | $308K | 0% | 1 | 2024 |
| Not reported | 1 | $0 | 0% | 1 | 1983 |
| 27622 | 1 | $0 | 0% | 1 | 2024 |
Click a column to sort. Click a ZIP to load it in the lookup above.
When does Avery County flood?
September accounts for the most flood losses (216 claims, 75%). Claims by month of loss:
| Month | Claims | Share |
|---|---|---|
| January | 3 | 1% |
| February | 1 | 0% |
| March | 1 | 0% |
| April | 3 | 1% |
| May | 12 | 4% |
| June | 4 | 1% |
| July | 3 | 1% |
| August | 19 | 7% |
| September | 216 | 75% |
| October | 20 | 7% |
| November | 4 | 1% |
| December | 2 | 1% |
Year-by-year detail
| Year of loss | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 137 | $12.5M |
| 2021 | 7 | $27K |
| 2019 | 2 | $1K |
| 2018 | 2 | $10K |
| 2015 | 1 | $0 |
| 2013 | 12 | $16K |
| 2008 | 1 | $2K |
| 2006 | 1 | $3K |
| 2005 | 1 | $0 |
| 2004 | 83 | $2.3M |
| 2003 | 5 | $17K |
| 2001 | 1 | $6K |
| 1999 | 1 | $0 |
| 1997 | 1 | $1K |
| 1995 | 17 | $211K |
| 1994 | 12 | $94K |
| 1989 | 1 | $14K |
| 1983 | 1 | $0 |
| 1980 | 1 | $0 |
| 1979 | 1 | $845 |
Neighboring counties
Avery County borders 5 areas we cover. Flood risk does not stop at a county line, so it is worth comparing.
| Neighbor | Claims | Paid | Outside high-risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avery County (this page) | 288 | $15.2M | 28% |
| Watauga County | 463 | $16.3M | 26% |
| Burke County | 131 | $11.3M | 39% |
| McDowell County | 111 | $8.4M | 36% |
| Caldwell County | 85 | $1.5M | 29% |
| Mitchell County | 50 | $2.7M | 38% |
All 100 North Carolina counties → · County and ZIP rankings →
Common questions about flooding in Avery County
- Has Avery County flooded recently?
- Yes — the most recent flood loss with an insurance claim on file was on 2024-10-14, and claims were filed in 5 of the last 10 years (149 claims from 2015 to 2024). FEMA’s data runs to 2026-09-08, so the newest events may not appear yet.
- Do I need flood insurance in a low-risk zone here?
- Lenders generally require it only in high-risk A and V zones. But 28% of Avery County’s claims came from moderate- and low-risk zones. Whether to buy coverage is your call — see flood zones explained and check your address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.
- Can I see whether a specific house has flooded?
- Not here. FEMA removes addresses before publishing, so these figures describe areas, never a property. Our guide how to check if a house has flooded lists the questions and records that can tell you about a specific home.
- Why might the real number of floods be higher?
- Only buildings with National Flood Insurance can file these claims, and most homes are not insured for flood. More on what the counts mean in understanding NFIP claims data.
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About these numbers
Figures are aggregated from FEMA’s OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims dataset (county FIPS 37011, data as of 2026-09-08). They cover only properties that carried National Flood Insurance — most homes do not, and private flood policies are not included — so real flood damage is larger than these counts show. Dollar amounts are as paid, in nominal dollars. Flood zone is the zone used to rate the policy at the time, which may differ from today’s map. FEMA states this dataset is not an official federal report. Use it for background, not for a purchase, insurance or legal decision; for a specific property ask the seller for its flood disclosure or the owner’s NFIP loss history.