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Craven County, NC flood insurance claims history

6,126 claims under the National Flood Insurance Program have been filed for flood losses in Craven County since 1979, and FEMA has paid out $239.5M on them. The worst year was 2018 with 2,738 claims. Craven County ranks #6 of 100 in North Carolina by claim count.

At a glance

  • 9% of claims came from buildings outside FEMA’s high-risk flood zones (B, C or X), where lenders usually do not require flood insurance.
  • 44% of all claims trace to a single event — Hurricane Florence (2018), which paid $202.5M 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 95% of the 100 North Carolina counties with any claims on file — and more than 4 of its 6 neighbors.
  • ZIP 28560 has the most claims in the county (3,174, 52%). Check your ZIP →
NFIP claims
6,126
1979–2026
Total paid
$239.5M
nominal dollars, not inflation-adjusted
Claims paid
86%
5,292 received a payment
Average payout
$45K
per paid claim
Last 10 years
2,784
claims 2017 – 2026
Most recent loss
2026-04-11
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: 2,738 claims in 2018

Claims by year of loss, 1979–2026. Spikes line up with named storms and major rain events; quiet years still see claims from local flash flooding.

Biggest flood events in Craven County

Flood event (FEMA name)ClaimsPaidAvg / claimYear
Hurricane Florence2,721$202.5M$74K2018
Hurricane Irene1,146$18.1M$16K2011
Hurricane Fran664$6.3M$9K1996
Hurricane Floyd282$1.9M$7K1999
Hurricane Dennis248$1.7M$7K1999
Hurricane Isabel206$2.3M$11K2003
Hurricane Bertha86$372K$4K1996
Hurricane Ophelia80$413K$5K2005
Hurricane Matthew55$843K$15K2016
Hurricane Bonnie44$42K$9591998
October severe storms12$43K$4K2015
Hurricane Debby6$70K$12K2024

91% 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: 5,452 (89%)Coastal high-risk V zones: 51 (1%)Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X): 547 (9%)Zone not recorded: 76 (1%)
Flood zone at ratingClaimsPaidAvg / claim
High-risk A zones (A, AE, AH, AO, A1–A30, AR)5,452$225.5M$41K
Coastal high-risk V zones (V, VE, V1–V30)51$2.4M$48K
Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X)547$11.3M$21K
Zone not recorded76$245K$3K

What caused the flooding

Cause of damage (as coded by FEMA)ClaimsShare
Stream, river or lake overflow2,35038%
Accumulation of rainfall or snowmelt1,91231%
Tidal water overflow (storm surge)1,52425%
Other causes2985%
Not recorded290%
Alluvial fan overflow120%

Flood claims by ZIP code in Craven County

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

285603,174$129.7M52%342025
285622,009$87.7M33%342026
28532639$14.5M10%252024
28519141$3.8M2%82022
28586106$2.4M2%132021
2853014$324K0%62018
2856312$714K0%32018
2852310$123K0%42018
285268$50K0%82024
285614$93K0%32018
Not reported4$7K0%31996
285273$17K0%32018
280651$20K0%11996
285041$26K0%12018

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

When does Craven County flood?

September accounts for the most flood losses (4,324 claims, 71%). Claims by month of loss:

MonthClaimsShare
January60%
February140%
March491%
April160%
May120%
June140%
July1172%
August1,35322%
September4,32471%
October2013%
November180%
December20%

Year-by-year detail

Year of lossClaimsPaid
20261$0
20251$19K
20249$103K
20235$0
20227$8K
20212$0
20204$8K
201915$110K
20182,738$202.7M
20172$18K
201665$879K
201515$54K
20142$0
20129$16K
20111,156$18.3M
2010195$2.6M
200914$238K
20082$0
20071$0
200620$177K
2005146$1.2M
20044$24K
2003220$2.3M
20027$55K
20012$0
20007$4K
1999551$3.7M
199853$50K
19971$6K
1996760$6.7M
19953$0
19945$526
19937$13K
19924$0
19915$13K
19901$0
19891$0
19882$2K
19871$0
19864$2K
19851$0
198339$56K
198228$61K
19817$3K
19794$0

Neighboring counties

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

NeighborClaimsPaidOutside high-risk
Craven County (this page)6,126$239.5M9%
Beaufort County9,462$131.5M5%
Carteret County8,997$128.9M25%
Pamlico County4,330$102.8M11%
Pitt County1,205$36.3M25%
Lenoir County835$44.4M17%
Jones County205$17.0M36%

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

Common questions about flooding in Craven County

Has Craven County flooded recently?
Yes — the most recent flood loss with an insurance claim on file was on 2026-04-11, and claims were filed in 10 of the last 10 years (2,784 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 9% of Craven 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 37049, 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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