Flood Claims Map

North Carolina

Flood insurance claims in Avery County, North Carolina

FEMA records 288 National Flood Insurance Program claims in Avery County, North Carolina, since 1979, with $15.2 million paid in total. The year with the most claims was 2024, with 137. As of 3 August 2026, 1.7% of homes here had an NFIP policy, and 33.3% of homes in the high-risk flood zone did.

NFIP claims on record288
Total paid$15.2 million
Claims with a payment238
Homes with NFIP policy1.7%
High-risk zone homes insured33.3%
Residential policies in force274

Claims by year of loss

1979: 119791980: 11981: 01982: 01983: 119831984: 01985: 01986: 01987: 019871988: 01989: 11990: 01991: 019911992: 01993: 01994: 121995: 1719951996: 01997: 11998: 01999: 119992000: 02001: 12002: 02003: 520032004: 832005: 12006: 12007: 020072008: 12009: 02010: 02011: 020112012: 02013: 122014: 02015: 120152016: 02017: 02018: 22019: 220192020: 02021: 72022: 02023: 020232024: 137137

NFIP claims by year of loss, Avery County, North Carolina

1979: $84519791980: $01981: $01982: $01983: $019831984: $01985: $01986: $01987: $019871988: $01989: $13,8871990: $01991: $019911992: $01993: $01994: $94,2421995: $211,19919951996: $01997: $1,2781998: $01999: $019992000: $02001: $5,9002002: $02003: $17,10320032004: $2.3 million2005: $02006: $3,4282007: $020072008: $1,5022009: $02010: $02011: $020112012: $02013: $15,5392014: $02015: $020152016: $02017: $02018: $10,4402019: $1,02920192020: $02021: $27,4142022: $02023: $020232024: $12.5 million$12.5 million

Paid on claims by year of loss (building, contents and increased cost of compliance), Avery County, North Carolina

Named flood events with the most claims

Event (FEMA name)Claims
Hurricane Helene135
Tropical Storm Ivan46
Tropical Storm Fred7
Hurricane Isabel1
Hurricane Michael1
October severe storms1

ZIP codes with the most claims

ZIP code (as reported)Claims
28657158
2864649
2860435
2862220
286166
286626
286524
284632
287772
286642

204 of the claims were on properties rated in a high-risk flood zone (zones starting A or V). Building $13.1 million, contents $1.7 million, increased cost of compliance $386,713.

Flood insurance take-up

HomesWith NFIP policyShare
High-risk flood zone44414833.3%
All homes16,0682741.7%

FEMA counts residential structures and NFIP residential policies in force as of 3 August 2026. Private flood policies are not counted. A share is shown as n/a where FEMA counts no homes or more policies than homes.

Flood insurance basics. Most standard homeowners policies do not cover flood damage. NFIP policies are sold through insurance agents and through FEMA's FloodSmart site, which also explains waiting periods (usually 30 days before cover starts). Check your property's flood zone on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.

Sources

  1. FEMA, OpenFEMA FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims (v2 dataset, API v3 NfipClaims), 2,725,989 claim records, retrieved 29 October 2026
  2. FEMA, OpenFEMA NFIP Residential Penetration Rates, as of 3 August 2026

Checked 29 October 2026. Claims are NFIP claims only. Private flood insurance claims and uninsured losses are not included. Recent events can take months to be fully reflected.