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Watauga County, NC flood insurance claims history
463 claims under the National Flood Insurance Program have been filed for flood losses in Watauga County since 1978, and FEMA has paid out $16.3M on them. The worst year was 2024 with 198 claims. Watauga County ranks #30 of 100 in North Carolina by claim count.
At a glance
- 26% of claims came from buildings outside FEMA’s high-risk flood zones (B, C or X), where lenders usually do not require flood insurance.
- 42% of all claims trace to a single event — Hurricane Helene (2024), which paid $13.0M here.
- Flood claims were filed in 9 of the last 10 years — flooding here is a regular event, not a once-in-a-generation one.
- More flood claims than 71% of the 100 North Carolina counties with any claims on file — and more than all 4 of its neighbors.
- ZIP 28607 has the most claims in the county (262, 57%). Check your ZIP →
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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
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 Watauga County
| Flood event (FEMA name) | Claims | Paid | Avg / claim | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene | 196 | $13.0M | $66K | 2024 |
| Tropical Storm Ivan | 28 | $441K | $16K | 2004 |
| Hurricane Hugo | 12 | $58K | $5K | 1989 |
| Hurricane Florence | 2 | $0 | $0 | 2018 |
| Hurricane Floyd | 1 | $0 | $0 | 1999 |
| Hurricane Matthew | 1 | $0 | $0 | 2016 |
| Hurricane Isabel | 1 | $0 | $0 | 2003 |
| Hurricane Sandy | 1 | $2K | $2K | 2012 |
| Tropical Storm Fred | 1 | $31K | $31K | 2021 |
| Hurricane Michael | 1 | $0 | $0 | 2018 |
53% of claims here fall under these 10 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 →
| Flood zone at rating | Claims | Paid | Avg / claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| High-risk A zones (A, AE, AH, AO, A1–A30, AR) | 330 | $13.9M | $42K |
| Coastal high-risk V zones (V, VE, V1–V30) | 1 | $6K | $6K |
| Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X) | 119 | $2.3M | $19K |
| Zone not recorded | 13 | $9K | $692 |
What caused the flooding
| Cause of damage (as coded by FEMA) | Claims | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Stream, river or lake overflow | 261 | 56% |
| Accumulation of rainfall or snowmelt | 129 | 28% |
| Tidal water overflow (storm surge) | 33 | 7% |
| Other causes | 29 | 6% |
| Not recorded | 9 | 2% |
| Alluvial fan overflow | 1 | 0% |
Flood claims by ZIP code in Watauga County
13 ZIP codes in Watauga County have at least one NFIP claim. ZIP codes can cross county lines; this table counts only claims FEMA assigned to Watauga County.
| 28607 | 262 | $10.4M | 57% | 27 | 2025 |
| 28604 | 50 | $2.4M | 11% | 11 | 2025 |
| 28605 | 36 | $734K | 8% | 16 | 2026 |
| 28679 | 35 | $1.4M | 8% | 8 | 2024 |
| 28698 | 18 | $509K | 4% | 6 | 2024 |
| 28691 | 18 | $276K | 4% | 4 | 2004 |
| 28692 | 15 | $386K | 3% | 2 | 2024 |
| 28645 | 9 | $6K | 2% | 3 | 1998 |
| 28684 | 9 | $254K | 2% | 1 | 2024 |
| 28618 | 5 | $24K | 1% | 2 | 2024 |
| Not reported | 4 | $7K | 1% | 4 | 1994 |
| 28067 | 1 | $0 | 0% | 1 | 1989 |
| 28608 | 1 | $0 | 0% | 1 | 1996 |
Click a column to sort. Click a ZIP to load it in the lookup above.
When does Watauga County flood?
September accounts for the most flood losses (273 claims, 59%). Claims by month of loss:
| Month | Claims | Share |
|---|---|---|
| January | 29 | 6% |
| February | 5 | 1% |
| March | 13 | 3% |
| April | 14 | 3% |
| May | 18 | 4% |
| June | 18 | 4% |
| July | 12 | 3% |
| August | 40 | 9% |
| September | 273 | 59% |
| October | 19 | 4% |
| November | 18 | 4% |
| December | 4 | 1% |
Year-by-year detail
| Year of loss | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | $3K |
| 2025 | 2 | $117K |
| 2024 | 198 | $13.0M |
| 2023 | 1 | $76K |
| 2021 | 2 | $40K |
| 2020 | 7 | $80K |
| 2019 | 8 | $14K |
| 2018 | 15 | $48K |
| 2017 | 14 | $559K |
| 2016 | 2 | $4K |
| 2013 | 22 | $556K |
| 2012 | 3 | $2K |
| 2011 | 14 | $260K |
| 2010 | 2 | $2K |
| 2009 | 2 | $6K |
| 2004 | 44 | $595K |
| 2003 | 18 | $219K |
| 2000 | 1 | $0 |
| 1999 | 1 | $0 |
| 1998 | 9 | $107K |
| 1997 | 2 | $529 |
| 1996 | 3 | $1K |
| 1995 | 18 | $172K |
| 1994 | 34 | $267K |
| 1993 | 1 | $0 |
| 1992 | 1 | $6K |
| 1991 | 1 | $635 |
| 1990 | 1 | $467 |
| 1989 | 17 | $114K |
| 1987 | 1 | $3K |
| 1985 | 1 | $6K |
| 1983 | 4 | $0 |
| 1980 | 1 | $963 |
| 1979 | 11 | $8K |
| 1978 | 1 | $0 |
Neighboring counties
Watauga County borders 4 areas we cover. Flood risk does not stop at a county line, so it is worth comparing.
| Neighbor | Claims | Paid | Outside high-risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watauga County (this page) | 463 | $16.3M | 26% |
| Avery County | 288 | $15.2M | 28% |
| Ashe County | 183 | $7.3M | 25% |
| Caldwell County | 85 | $1.5M | 29% |
| Wilkes County | 34 | $1.4M | 39% |
All 100 North Carolina counties → · County and ZIP rankings →
Common questions about flooding in Watauga County
- Has Watauga County flooded recently?
- Yes — the most recent flood loss with an insurance claim on file was on 2026-08-02, and claims were filed in 9 of the last 10 years (248 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 26% of Watauga 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 37189, 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.