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Beaufort County, NC flood insurance claims history

9,462 claims under the National Flood Insurance Program have been filed for flood losses in Beaufort County since 1978, and FEMA has paid out $131.5M on them. The worst year was 1999 with 2,500 claims. Beaufort County ranks #4 of 100 in North Carolina by claim count.

At a glance

  • 5% of claims came from buildings outside FEMA’s high-risk flood zones (B, C or X), where lenders usually do not require flood insurance.
  • 18% of all claims trace to a single event — Hurricane Irene (2011), which paid $40.9M here.
  • Flood claims were filed in 10 of the last 10 years — flooding here is a regular event, not a once-in-a-generation one.
  • More flood claims than 97% of the 100 North Carolina counties with any claims on file — and more than all 6 of its neighbors.
  • ZIP 27889 has the most claims in the county (3,752, 40%). Check your ZIP →
NFIP claims
9,462
1978–2026
Total paid
$131.5M
nominal dollars, not inflation-adjusted
Claims paid
86%
8,122 received a payment
Average payout
$16K
per paid claim
Last 10 years
1,345
claims 2017 – 2026
Most recent loss
2026-05-26
data as of 2026-09-08

Look up your ZIP code

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

Peak: 2,500 claims in 1999

Claims by year of loss, 1978–2026. Spikes line up with named storms and major rain events; quiet years still see claims from local flash flooding.

Biggest flood events in Beaufort County

Flood event (FEMA name)ClaimsPaidAvg / claimYear
Hurricane Irene1,676$40.9M$24K2011
Hurricane Dennis1,246$17.3M$14K1999
Hurricane Floyd1,208$9.6M$8K1999
Hurricane Florence1,165$23.9M$20K2018
Hurricane Bonnie1,065$8.9M$8K1998
Hurricane Fran977$13.8M$14K1996
Hurricane Isabel679$5.2M$8K2003
Hurricane Bertha472$3.4M$7K1996
Hurricane Matthew119$2.2M$18K2016
Tropical Storm Ophelia101$979K$10K2023
Tropical Storm Ernesto40$365K$9K2006
Hurricane Isaias16$129K$8K2020

93% of claims here fall under these 12 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 →

High-risk A zones: 8,684 (92%)Coastal high-risk V zones: 2 (0%)Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X): 438 (5%)Zone not recorded: 338 (4%)
Flood zone at ratingClaimsPaidAvg / claim
High-risk A zones (A, AE, AH, AO, A1–A30, AR)8,684$122.3M$14K
Coastal high-risk V zones (V, VE, V1–V30)2$179K$90K
Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X)438$7.0M$16K
Zone not recorded338$2.0M$6K

What caused the flooding

Cause of damage (as coded by FEMA)ClaimsShare
Accumulation of rainfall or snowmelt3,31935%
Tidal water overflow (storm surge)2,97831%
Stream, river or lake overflow2,68628%
Other causes3754%
Alluvial fan overflow551%
Not recorded450%

Flood claims by ZIP code in Beaufort County

27 ZIP codes in Beaufort County have at least one NFIP claim. ZIP codes can cross county lines; this table counts only claims FEMA assigned to Beaufort County.

278893,752$50.4M40%372026
278103,656$47.0M39%292025
27817804$10.7M8%202023
27808580$8.2M6%162025
27806438$12.6M5%192023
27814119$1.2M1%82023
2786045$629K0%92018
2786523$226K0%72019
Not reported7$22K0%51999
285804$50K0%32011
278584$95K0%31999
278414$8K0%32018
278014$32K0%42018
271873$8K0%21999
278283$28K0%21999
277042$25K0%11996
278052$8K0%11996
274102$81K0%11996
275972$6K0%11996
278991$00%12011
277891$22K0%11996
285701$17K0%11998
271021$00%11996
287101$12K0%11998
279101$00%12003
278371$70K0%11999
278341$00%11998

Click a column to sort. Click a ZIP to load it in the lookup above.

When does Beaufort County flood?

September accounts for the most flood losses (5,610 claims, 59%). Claims by month of loss:

MonthClaimsShare
January160%
February581%
March310%
April120%
May140%
June260%
July5145%
August2,82030%
September5,61059%
October3043%
November491%
December80%

Year-by-year detail

Year of lossClaimsPaid
20261$411
20253$43K
202412$32K
2023107$1.0M
202210$51K
20211$13K
202017$129K
201910$53K
20181,177$23.9M
20177$41K
2016155$2.4M
201528$133K
201418$96K
20133$13K
20125$2K
20111,684$40.9M
2010137$1.4M
200910$141K
200816$62K
200652$399K
200574$986K
20047$0
2003686$5.3M
20022$0
200118$50K
20006$94K
19992,500$27.1M
19981,142$9.2M
19971$24K
19961,500$17.5M
19951$0
19942$0
19937$13K
19924$5K
19911$0
198911$16K
19871$304
198533$170K
19842$0
19831$907
19824$3K
19803$0
19791$476
19782$0

Neighboring counties

Beaufort County borders 6 areas we cover. Flood risk does not stop at a county line, so it is worth comparing.

NeighborClaimsPaidOutside high-risk
Beaufort County (this page)9,462$131.5M5%
Craven County6,126$239.5M9%
Pamlico County4,330$102.8M11%
Hyde County1,734$44.8M2%
Pitt County1,205$36.3M25%
Washington County157$2.8M20%
Martin County42$621K56%

All 100 North Carolina counties → · County and ZIP rankings →

Common questions about flooding in Beaufort County

Has Beaufort County flooded recently?
Yes — the most recent flood loss with an insurance claim on file was on 2026-05-26, and claims were filed in 10 of the last 10 years (1,345 claims from 2017 to 2026). 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 5% of Beaufort 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.

Look up another place

About these numbers

Figures are aggregated from FEMA’s OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims dataset (county FIPS 37013, 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.

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