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Pamlico County, NC flood insurance claims history

4,330 claims under the National Flood Insurance Program have been filed for flood losses in Pamlico County since 1982, and FEMA has paid out $102.8M on them. The worst year was 2011 with 1,332 claims. Pamlico County ranks #9 of 100 in North Carolina by claim count.

At a glance

  • 11% of claims came from buildings outside FEMA’s high-risk flood zones (B, C or X), where lenders usually do not require flood insurance.
  • 31% of all claims trace to a single event — Hurricane Irene (2011), which paid $43.6M here.
  • Flood claims were filed in 7 of the last 10 years.
  • More flood claims than 92% of the 100 North Carolina counties with any claims on file — and more than 1 of its 4 neighbors.
  • ZIP 28571 has the most claims in the county (2,177, 50%). Check your ZIP →
NFIP claims
4,330
1982–2025
Total paid
$102.8M
nominal dollars, not inflation-adjusted
Claims paid
91%
3,942 received a payment
Average payout
$26K
per paid claim
Last 10 years
1,309
claims 2016 – 2025
Most recent loss
2025-10-01
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: 1,332 claims in 2011

Claims by year of loss, 1982–2025. Spikes line up with named storms and major rain events; quiet years still see claims from local flash flooding.

Biggest flood events in Pamlico County

Flood event (FEMA name)ClaimsPaidAvg / claimYear
Hurricane Irene1,325$43.6M$33K2011
Hurricane Florence1,274$38.2M$30K2018
Hurricane Isabel897$13.8M$15K2003
Hurricane Dennis391$3.7M$9K1999
Hurricane Fran86$305K$4K1996
Hurricane Floyd73$201K$3K1999
Hurricane Ophelia55$715K$13K2005
Hurricane Bonnie23$42K$2K1998
October severe storms13$98K$8K2015
Hurricane Gloria3$0$01985
Hurricane Michael3$18K$6K2018
Hurricane Charley2$1K$6132004

96% 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: 3,810 (88%)Coastal high-risk V zones: 14 (0%)Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X): 469 (11%)Zone not recorded: 37 (1%)
Flood zone at ratingClaimsPaidAvg / claim
High-risk A zones (A, AE, AH, AO, A1–A30, AR)3,810$93.3M$24K
Coastal high-risk V zones (V, VE, V1–V30)14$602K$43K
Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X)469$8.8M$19K
Zone not recorded37$113K$3K

What caused the flooding

Cause of damage (as coded by FEMA)ClaimsShare
Tidal water overflow (storm surge)1,63338%
Stream, river or lake overflow1,39332%
Accumulation of rainfall or snowmelt1,17027%
Other causes1022%
Alluvial fan overflow190%
Not recorded130%

Flood claims by ZIP code in Pamlico County

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

285712,177$48.6M50%252025
28556680$14.7M16%122019
28515507$12.9M12%142019
28510277$7.6M6%112024
28587229$7.2M5%102018
28537155$4.2M4%112018
28552132$3.3M3%132019
2852985$2.9M2%72018
2858330$446K1%42018
2856029$724K1%72018
Not reported18$60K0%82003
285093$3K0%32011
285862$26K0%22003
285272$29K0%11999
285001$4K0%11999
272031$3K0%12003
285781$11K0%11999
285571$20K0%12018

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

When does Pamlico County flood?

September accounts for the most flood losses (2,774 claims, 64%). Claims by month of loss:

MonthClaimsShare
January50%
February30%
March180%
April90%
May70%
June20%
July40%
August1,44033%
September2,77464%
October481%
November140%
December60%

Year-by-year detail

Year of lossClaimsPaid
20251$8K
20241$0
20232$18K
20211$0
201911$527K
20181,291$38.5M
20162$4K
201514$399K
20142$13K
20122$0
20111,332$43.6M
20103$8K
20093$2K
20072$16K
20068$24K
200592$880K
200417$186K
2003922$14.3M
20023$16K
20011$15K
20001$0
1999471$3.9M
199826$50K
199690$305K
19931$24K
19921$0
19911$1K
19883$209
19853$0
19841$0
198314$17K
19828$33K

Neighboring counties

Pamlico County borders 4 areas we cover. Flood risk does not stop at a county line, so it is worth comparing.

NeighborClaimsPaidOutside high-risk
Pamlico County (this page)4,330$102.8M11%
Beaufort County9,462$131.5M5%
Carteret County8,997$128.9M25%
Craven County6,126$239.5M9%
Hyde County1,734$44.8M2%

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

Common questions about flooding in Pamlico County

Has Pamlico County flooded recently?
Yes — the most recent flood loss with an insurance claim on file was on 2025-10-01, and claims were filed in 7 of the last 10 years (1,309 claims from 2016 to 2025). 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 11% of Pamlico 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 37137, 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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