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Pitt County, NC flood insurance claims history

1,205 claims under the National Flood Insurance Program have been filed for flood losses in Pitt County since 1979, and FEMA has paid out $36.3M on them. The worst year was 1999 with 597 claims. Pitt County ranks #15 of 100 in North Carolina by claim count.

At a glance

  • 25% of claims came from buildings outside FEMA’s high-risk flood zones (B, C or X), where lenders usually do not require flood insurance.
  • 48% of all claims trace to a single event — Hurricane Floyd (1999), which paid $26.3M here.
  • Flood claims were filed in 8 of the last 10 years — flooding here is a regular event, not a once-in-a-generation one.
  • More flood claims than 86% of the 100 North Carolina counties with any claims on file — and more than 5 of its 7 neighbors.
  • ZIP 27834 has the most claims in the county (413, 34%). Check your ZIP →
NFIP claims
1,205
1979–2025
Total paid
$36.3M
nominal dollars, not inflation-adjusted
Claims paid
85%
1,022 received a payment
Average payout
$36K
per paid claim
Last 10 years
315
claims 2016 – 2025
Most recent loss
2025-12-29
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: 597 claims in 1999

Claims by year of loss, 1979–2025. Spikes line up with named storms and major rain events; quiet years still see claims from local flash flooding.

Biggest flood events in Pitt County

Flood event (FEMA name)ClaimsPaidAvg / claimYear
Hurricane Floyd581$26.3M$45K1999
Hurricane Matthew252$7.0M$28K2016
Hurricane Irene67$661K$10K2011
Hurricane Florence31$394K$13K2018
Tropical Storm Ernesto25$311K$12K2006
Hurricane Isabel19$38K$2K2003
Hurricane Fran18$101K$6K1996
Hurricane Bonnie13$122K$9K1998
Hurricane Dennis9$124K$14K1999
Hurricane Bertha7$77K$11K1996
Hurricane Charley5$29K$6K2004
Tropical Storm Ophelia3$34K$11K2023

85% 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: 901 (75%)Coastal high-risk V zones: 4 (0%)Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X): 296 (25%)Zone not recorded: 4 (0%)
Flood zone at ratingClaimsPaidAvg / claim
High-risk A zones (A, AE, AH, AO, A1–A30, AR)901$31.3M$35K
Coastal high-risk V zones (V, VE, V1–V30)4$21K$5K
Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X)296$5.0M$17K
Zone not recorded4$29K$7K

What caused the flooding

Cause of damage (as coded by FEMA)ClaimsShare
Stream, river or lake overflow62152%
Accumulation of rainfall or snowmelt44137%
Tidal water overflow (storm surge)655%
Other causes615%
Not recorded131%
Alluvial fan overflow40%

Flood claims by ZIP code in Pitt County

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

27834413$13.0M34%212023
27858304$12.5M25%272025
28590142$1.3M12%202025
2853082$3.9M7%82018
2851354$1.1M4%132018
2782847$1.4M4%112018
2783743$1.0M4%72024
2788436$628K3%82025
2788932$349K3%72018
2781219$174K2%112025
278358$194K1%41999
278795$47K0%32018
285865$46K0%32016
278864$370K0%32025
278364$66K0%11999
278522$00%12016
276341$93K0%11999
278271$21K0%12016
278291$00%12003
278041$96K0%11999
278711$11K0%12010

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

When does Pitt County flood?

September accounts for the most flood losses (709 claims, 59%). Claims by month of loss:

MonthClaimsShare
January91%
February91%
March91%
April50%
May131%
June171%
July161%
August13011%
September70959%
October27723%
November71%
December40%

Year-by-year detail

Year of lossClaimsPaid
202510$141K
20246$82K
20233$34K
20215$41K
20202$12K
201832$394K
20172$7K
2016255$7.0M
20155$707
20143$23K
201216$81K
201169$676K
201030$360K
20092$18K
20083$675
200630$316K
20054$13K
20049$39K
200341$147K
20022$440
20012$116
20007$0
1999597$26.6M
199817$123K
199626$178K
19934$3K
19923$885
19881$0
19875$5K
19863$2K
19852$9K
19833$583
19822$643
19812$21K
19792$250

Neighboring counties

Pitt County borders 7 areas we cover. Flood risk does not stop at a county line, so it is worth comparing.

NeighborClaimsPaidOutside high-risk
Pitt County (this page)1,205$36.3M25%
Beaufort County9,462$131.5M5%
Craven County6,126$239.5M9%
Lenoir County835$44.4M17%
Edgecombe County795$28.2M34%
Wilson County498$12.6M28%
Greene County82$2.5M53%
Martin County42$621K56%

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

Common questions about flooding in Pitt County

Has Pitt County flooded recently?
Yes — the most recent flood loss with an insurance claim on file was on 2025-12-29, and claims were filed in 8 of the last 10 years (315 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 25% of Pitt 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 37147, 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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