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Mecklenburg County, NC flood insurance claims history

2,883 claims under the National Flood Insurance Program have been filed for flood losses in Mecklenburg County since 1978, and FEMA has paid out $61.6M on them. The worst year was 2008 with 425 claims. Mecklenburg County ranks #10 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.
  • 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 91% of the 100 North Carolina counties with any claims on file — and more than all 5 of its neighbors.
  • ZIP 28205 has the most claims in the county (563, 20%). Check your ZIP →
NFIP claims
2,883
1978–2026
Total paid
$61.6M
nominal dollars, not inflation-adjusted
Claims paid
77%
2,233 received a payment
Average payout
$28K
per paid claim
Last 10 years
442
claims 2017 – 2026
Most recent loss
2026-07-06
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: 425 claims in 2008

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 Mecklenburg County

Flood event (FEMA name)ClaimsPaidAvg / claimYear
Hurricane Helene76$8.7M$114K2024
Hurricane Eta75$3.8M$50K2020
Hurricane Florence48$827K$17K2018
Hurricane Hugo47$80K$2K1989
Flooding (FEMA general label)16$46K$3K1990
Hurricane Hanna7$156K$22K2008
Hurricane Fran7$252K$36K1996
Hurricane Debby6$73K$12K2024
Hurricane Diana3$0$01984
Hurricane Floyd2$5K$3K1999
Hurricane Bonnie2$39K$19K1998
Hurricane Isabel2$2K$8712003

10% 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: 2,036 (71%)Coastal high-risk V zones: 12 (0%)Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X): 802 (28%)Zone not recorded: 33 (1%)
Flood zone at ratingClaimsPaidAvg / claim
High-risk A zones (A, AE, AH, AO, A1–A30, AR)2,036$52.0M$26K
Coastal high-risk V zones (V, VE, V1–V30)12$6K$495
Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X)802$9.7M$12K
Zone not recorded33$31K$953

What caused the flooding

Cause of damage (as coded by FEMA)ClaimsShare
Stream, river or lake overflow1,26044%
Accumulation of rainfall or snowmelt1,15540%
Tidal water overflow (storm surge)2278%
Other causes1485%
Not recorded863%
Alluvial fan overflow40%

Flood claims by ZIP code in Mecklenburg County

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

28205563$16.4M20%322025
28207413$4.5M14%292024
28215399$3.5M14%332024
28209317$5.2M11%282026
28214201$13.2M7%202024
28211200$2.1M7%312025
28226158$2.3M5%302024
2820869$4.0M2%182023
2821666$1.1M2%112024
2821062$514K2%232025
2820651$2.4M2%152024
2821738$931K1%72021
2822737$329K1%162024
2821335$247K1%132022
2820332$824K1%142021
2810531$273K1%212024
2827027$200K1%162025
2821224$96K1%132023
2803121$178K1%152024
2807819$710K1%52024
2827718$263K1%92024
2820418$1.2M1%102015
2813413$33K0%82018
Not reported12$85K0%41997
2827310$26K0%62023
282787$64K0%72023
282697$42K0%52024
282417$31K0%31996
282375$134K0%32025
282624$549K0%32020
282243$16K0%21983
280363$25K0%32020
282022$9180%11982
282992$7K0%11978
282222$00%21981
282802$9K0%21980
282352$114K0%11997
271521$15K0%11997
282281$10K0%11996
282001$4K0%11989

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

When does Mecklenburg County flood?

August accounts for the most flood losses (877 claims, 30%). Claims by month of loss:

MonthClaimsShare
January1846%
February251%
March803%
April512%
May1535%
June51318%
July48917%
August87730%
September30110%
October873%
November953%
December281%

Year-by-year detail

Year of lossClaimsPaid
20262$43K
202527$759K
2024159$10.0M
20237$250K
20225$72K
202111$300K
202099$4.2M
201964$3.6M
201859$993K
20179$13K
20165$35K
201525$175K
201415$75K
201351$1.1M
201221$219K
201173$2.7M
2010125$865K
2009117$1.6M
2008425$11.5M
20075$42K
200670$935K
200514$106K
200447$1.1M
2003260$5.6M
20022$0
20005$12K
19999$23K
199824$285K
1997368$9.1M
199618$287K
1995254$4.8M
199417$57K
199326$23K
199213$33K
199111$27K
199059$99K
198965$115K
19881$0
198722$21K
19862$0
198535$64K
198415$4K
19839$13K
1982121$359K
198110$15K
19809$13K
197954$130K
197839$31K

Neighboring counties

Mecklenburg County borders 5 areas we cover. Flood risk does not stop at a county line, so it is worth comparing.

NeighborClaimsPaidOutside high-risk
Mecklenburg County (this page)2,883$61.6M28%
Cabarrus County241$5.4M35%
Gaston County105$1.3M27%
Union County81$1.7M57%
Iredell County60$1.1M40%
Lincoln County15$246K73%

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

Common questions about flooding in Mecklenburg County

Has Mecklenburg County flooded recently?
Yes — the most recent flood loss with an insurance claim on file was on 2026-07-06, and claims were filed in 10 of the last 10 years (442 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 28% of Mecklenburg 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 37119, 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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