North Carolina natural disasters

The state's storm and disaster record · population 10,427,615 · 100 counties and county equivalents

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 54,913 storm events in North Carolina since 1950, 49,268 of them since 1996 when every event type began to be recorded, and the Storm Prediction Center counts 1,551 tornadoes in the state since 1950. The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events (20,476). In NOAA's storm record since 1950, the deadliest storm in North Carolina is Hurricane Helene (September 27, 2024): 88 deaths, 4 injuries and $2.0 billion in damage in 2025 dollars across 67 records filed by several offices. FEMA has made 85 declarations for North Carolina since 1954, 83 for natural hazards; 57 were major disasters.

The record, 1950 to 2026

Storm events recorded in North Carolina each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).

recorded, no damage figure
under $1 million
$1 million or more
$10 million or more
$100 million or more, or 10 deaths
$1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
a year with a death
1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
1996: all 48 event types from 1996

Storm events recorded: 54,9131950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded: 7293,892 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $26.2Bas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Tornadoes (SPC): 1,5511950 to 2025
FEMA declarations: 8557 major disasters

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); tornado count: NOAA Storm Prediction Center, 1950-2025; damage in 2025 dollars (BLS CPI-U). Search the record at NCEI.

What natural disasters happen in North Carolina?

By NOAA's records, North Carolina's most frequent hazards are severe thunderstorm wind events (20,476), hail reports (9,900), winter storm records (8,965); the deadliest are floods and flash floods (186 deaths). Each hazard is counted over the years NOAA has recorded it everywhere: tornadoes since 1950, hail and thunderstorm wind since 1955, everything else since 1996. Open a hazard for its years, months, counties and worst events.

North Carolina: records by hazard to June 30, 2026
Hazard	Records	Last 10 years	Killed	Injured	Damage	Counties
Severe thunderstorm wind	20,476	6,376	46	355	$207M	100 of 100
Hail	9,900	1,197	0	1	$284M	100 of 100
Winter storms	8,965	1,960	57	240	$440M	100 of 100
Floods	5,375	2,059	186	36	$4.9B	100 of 100
High wind and dust storms	2,490	494	41	64	$489M	100 of 100
Tornadoes	1,691	322	137	2,808	$4.2B	99 of 100
Drought	1,652	290	0	0	$52M	58 of 100
Hurricanes and tropical storms	1,130	349	61	31	$15.4B	99 of 100
Heavy rain	821	373	2	7	$18M	94 of 100
Lightning	813	98	41	277	$85M	90 of 100
Extreme cold	771	361	11	0	$30M	97 of 100
Heat	353	215	16	21	–	75 of 100
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds	199	15	1	20	$254K	61 of 100
Rip currents and high surf	180	105	108	21	–	10 of 100
Landslides and avalanches	64	18	22	11	$58M	23 of 100
Wildfires	33	1	0	0	$7.2M	20 of 100

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: every record counted once in the state; "last 10 years" is 2017-2026 (2026 to June 30, 2026).

What were the deadliest disasters in North Carolina?

The storms with the most deaths since 1950, from the National Weather Service's own entries. NOAA files one storm as several records when it crosses forecast zones and counties or changes type, and groups them under one episode; each row here is an episode, with its totals and the narrative of its deadliest record. Before 1996 tornado records carry no episode and stand alone. The narrative says what happened: some deaths the National Weather Service files under a weather type had another cause beside the weather.

North Carolina: the 10 storm episodes with the most deaths
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2024-09-27	Hurricane Helene · Flash FloodRidgecrest, Buncombe County One named storm filed by several offices: 67 records in 2 episodes; the totals are the storm's. Tropical Cyclone Helene began organizing over the western Caribbean on the 23rd and 24th of September before rapidly intensifying as it moved north through the eastern Gulf of Mexico on the 25th and 26th. A plume of moisture extending from the intensifying storm interacted with a slow-moving cold front to produce a ...		88	4	$2.0B
1984-03-28	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Greenville, killed 16 (SPC) · TornadoSampson County Every tornado record filed in the state that day (25, in 18 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.	F3 25 mi x 1,407 yd	42	801	$25M step
1999-09-15	Hurricane Floyd · Flash FloodCountywide, Edgecombe County One named storm filed by several offices: 31 records in 6 episodes, 1999-09-15 to 1999-10-16; the totals are the storm's. Rainfall associated with Hurricane Floyd produced unprecedented flash flooding across the eastern half of the state. Every river and stream flooded nearby roads and communities. Several lives were lost due to people driving into flooded roadways or directly into streams where roads and bridges were washed out. Several ...		37	1	$1.6B
2016-10-09	Hurricane Matthew · FloodDrug Store, Johnston County One named storm filed by several offices: 62 records in 4 episodes, 2016-10-09 to 2016-10-13; the totals are the storm's. Hurricane Matthew skirted by the North Carolina coast on October 8, 2016, dropping torrential rainfall of 8 to 15 inches and producing wind gusts of 50 to 70 mph across Central and Eastern North Carolina. The large swath of 8 to 15 inches of rain across Eastern and Central North Carolina, caused devastating and life ...		30	1	$1.2B
2011-04-16	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Askewville, killed 12 (SPC) · TornadoAskewville, Bertie County One named storm filed by several offices: 31 records in 3 episodes; the totals are the storm's. Scattered severe thunderstorms in advance of a cold front produced damaging winds, large hail, and several tornadoes across portions of northeast North Carolina.	EF3 14.31 mi x 1,300 yd	24	370	$451M
2018-09-13	Hurricane Florence · Tropical StormSampson County · forecast zone Sampson One named storm filed by several offices: 99 records in 5 episodes, 2018-09-13 to 2018-09-25; the totals are the storm's. A ridge of high pressure over eastern North America stalled Florence's forward motion a few miles off the southeast North Carolina coast on September 13th. Hurricane Florence made landfall near Wrightsville Beach early on Saturday September 15, and weakened further as it moved slowly inland. Despite making landfall as ...		23	1	$2.8B
1996-09-05	Hurricane Fran · Hurricane (Typhoon)Wake County · forecast zone Wake One named storm filed by several offices: 17 records in 3 episodes; the totals are the storm's. Hurricane FRAN was the worst natural economic disaster to occur in North Carolina history. In the RAH county warning area along, the damage exceeded 2 billion dollars. Damage to crops, livestock, farm equipment/buildings was over 400 million. The agricultural damage was the greatest in Sampson, Johnston, and Wayne ...		13	6	$1.9B
2004-09-16	Hurricane Ivan · Debris FlowMacon County · forecast zone Macon One named storm filed by several offices: 7 records in 3 episodes, 2004-09-16 to 2004-09-17; the totals are the storm's. In response to persistent moderate to heavy rainfall associated with the remnants of Hurricane Ivan, severe flooding developed across the mountains for the second time in 9 days. Flooding first developed across the southwest mountains, when several small streams and creeks overflowed their banks, including Toot Hollow ...		9	10	$111M
2006-11-16	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Riegelwood, killed 8 (SPC) · TornadoRiegelwood, Columbus County One storm episode: 3 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A fast moving tornadic thunderstorm moved ashore on the coast of Brunswick County. There was no damage found until the storm moved across extreme eastern Columbus County and then extreme western Pender County. The tornado produced F3 damage through Riegelwood and diminished to F1 intensity as it crossed a wooded area ...	F3 2.15 mi x 300 yd	8	20	$836K
2020-11-12	Tropical Storm Eta · Flash FloodVashti, Alexander County One named storm filed by several offices: 8 records in 2 episodes; the totals are the storm's. Tropical Cyclone Eta moved from the eastern Gulf of Mexico, across the northern Florida peninsula, to off the South Carolina coast throughout the 11th and 12th. Tropical moisture streaming into the Carolinas throughout this time resulted in development of heavy rainfall, with widespread rainfall amounts of 4 to 6 ...		8	0	$2.9M

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed in this state, summed over the records of each episode (EPISODE_ID); a forecast-zone record counts the zone's deaths once. A tornado's whole-track deaths (SPC), on the state's tornado page, can be higher when the track crossed a state line. Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest records in North Carolina

North Carolina: the 8 records with the most damage since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Killed	Injured	Damage
1999-09-15	Hurricane (Typhoon)Alamance County · forecast zone Alamance	0	0	$6.2B
2018-09-14	Hurricane (Typhoon)New Hanover County · forecast zone Inland New Hanover	0	1	$1.2B
1996-09-04	Hurricane (Typhoon)Onslow County · forecast zone Onslow	2	2	$941M
2003-09-17	Hurricane (Typhoon)Eastern Dare · forecast zone Eastern Dare	0	0	$557M
1999-09-14	Hurricane (Typhoon)Lenoir County · forecast zone Lenoir	1	0	$549M
1999-09-14	Hurricane (Typhoon)Pitt County · forecast zone Pitt	5	0	$524M
1996-09-05	Hurricane (Typhoon)Pender County · forecast zone Pender	2	0	$425M
1996-09-05	Hurricane (Typhoon)New Hanover County · forecast zone New Hanover	0	0	$378M

Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $250M, in the dollars of the day) holds: November 28, 1988 (tornado, Wake County, 2 killed).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. BLS consumer price index.

Which counties in North Carolina have the most records?

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950 attributed to each county (forecast-zone records count on every county the zone covers).

Every county in North Carolina

Billion-dollar disasters in North Carolina

NOAA counted 121 weather or climate disasters from 1980-2024 that cost at least $1 billion (adjusted for inflation) and affected North Carolina, led by severe storm (54). The most recent: Hurricane Helene (2024); Hurricane Debby (2024); Central and Eastern Tornado Outbreak and Severe Weather (2024).

North Carolina: billion-dollar disasters by type, 1980-2024
Type	Events	Total cost (NOAA's range)
Severe Storm	54	$5.0B-$10.0B
Tropical Cyclone	31	$100.0B-$200.0B
Winter Storm	16	$2.0B-$5.0B
Drought	13	$10.0B-$20.0B
Freeze	3	$250M-$500M
Flooding	2	$100M-$250M
Wildfire	2	$5M-$100M

Every one of the 121, newest first

Hurricane Helene2024
Hurricane Debby2024
Central and Eastern Tornado Outbreak and Severe Weather2024
Central, Southern, Southeastern Tornado Outbreak2024
Southern and Eastern Severe Weather2024
Central Tornado Outbreak and Eastern Severe Weather2024
Southern Severe Weather2024
Southern Tornado Outbreak and East Coast Storm2024
Southern/Eastern/Northwestern Drought and Heat Wave2024
East Coast Storm and Flooding2023
Hurricane Idalia2023
Northeastern and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Rockies Hail Storms and Central and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Central and Eastern Tornadoes and Hail Storms2023
Central Tornado Outbreak and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Southern and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Central and Eastern Winter Storm and Cold Wave2022
Hurricane Ian2022
North Central and Eastern Severe Weather2022
Central Derecho2022
Southeast Tornado Outbreak2022
Southern Tornado Outbreak2022
Hurricane Ida2021
Tropical Storm Fred2021
Tropical Storm Elsa2021
Southern Tornadoes and Southeast Severe Weather2021
Eastern Severe Weather2021
Northwest, Central, Eastern Winter Storm and Cold Wave2021
Tropical Storm Eta2020
Hurricane Zeta2020
Hurricane Delta2020
Hurricane Isaias2020
South, Central and Eastern Severe Weather2020
Southeast and Eastern Tornado Outbreak2020
North Central and Ohio Valley Hail Storms and Severe Weather2020
South, East and Northeast Severe Weather2020
Southeast Tornadoes and Northern Storms and Flooding2020
Hurricane Dorian2019
South and Southeast Severe Weather2019
Southern and Eastern Tornadoes and Severe Weather2019
Hurricane Michael2018
Hurricane Florence2018
Central and Eastern Tornadoes and Severe Weather2018
Southern and Eastern Tornadoes and Severe Weather2018
Northeast Winter Storm2018
Central and Eastern Winter Storm2018
Hurricane Irma2017
Hurricane Harvey2017
South and Southeast Severe Weather2017
Southeast Severe Weather and Tornadoes2017
Southeast Freeze2017
Central/Southeast Tornado Outbreak2017
Hurricane Matthew2016
Western/Southeast Wildfires2016
South/Southeast Tornadoes2016
Southeast and Eastern Tornadoes2016
West/Northeast/Southeast Drought2016
South Carolina and East Coast Flooding2015
South/Southeast Severe Weather2015
Midwest/Ohio Valley Severe Weather2015
Central and Eastern Winter storm, Cold Wave2015
Midwest/Southeast/Northeast Tornadoes and Flooding2014
Midwest/Southeast/Northeast Winter Storm2014
Hurricane Sandy2012
Plains/East/Northeast Derecho2012
Hurricane Irene2011
Midwest/Southeast Tornadoes and Severe Weather2011
Midwest/Southeast Tornadoes2011
Southeast/Midwest Tornadoes2011
Midwest/Southeast Tornadoes and Derecho2011
Southern Plains/Southwest Drought and Heat Wave2011
Rockies/Central/East Severe Weather2010
Northeast Winter Storm2010
Midwest, South and East Severe Weather2009
Southwest/Great Plains Drought2009
U.S. Wildfires2008
U.S. Drought2008
Western/Eastern Drought/Heat Wave2007
East/South Severe Weather and Flooding2007
Spring Freeze2007
Southeast Severe Weather2005
Hurricane Jeanne2004
Hurricane Ivan2004
Hurricane Frances2004
Hurricane Charley2004
Severe Storms, Hail, Tornadoes2004
Hurricane Isabel2003
Severe Storms/Tornadoes2003
Severe Storms and Tornadoes2002
U.S. Drought2002
Southeast Winter Storm2000
Hurricane Floyd1999
Eastern Drought/Heat Wave1999
Oklahoma and Kansas Tornadoes1999
Central and Eastern Winter Storm1999
Hurricane Bonnie1998
Southern Drought and Heat Wave1998
Northern Plains and Great Lakes Derecho, Tornadoes1998
Western/Eastern Severe Weather and Flooding1997
Mississippi and Ohio Valley Severe Weather and Flooding1997
Hurricane Fran1996
Blizzard/Floods1996
Hurricane Opal1995
Southeast Ice Storm1994
Winter Storm, Cold Wave1994
Southeast Drought and Heat Wave1993
East Coast Blizzard and Severe Weather1993
Southeast Severe Weather1992
Hurricane Bob1991
Severe Storms, Tornadoes1991
Winter Storm, Cold Wave1989
Hurricane Hugo1989
Southern Derecho and Severe Storms1989
Southeast Drought/Heat Wave1986
Hurricane Gloria1985
Winter Storm, Cold Wave1985
Tornadoes, Severe Storms, Floods1984
Freeze/Cold Wave1983
Southeast Drought1983
Midwest/Southeast/Northeast Winter Storm, Cold Wave1982
Central/Eastern Drought/Heat Wave1980

Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters, state summary for North Carolina, 1980-2024 (NCEI's last update; the product is archived). A disaster that affected several states counts in each. NCEI billion-dollar disasters.

Federal disaster declarations in North Carolina

FEMA has made 85 declarations for North Carolina since 1954: 57 major disasters, 18 emergencies and 10 fire management assistance declarations. The most common incident types are hurricane (34), severe storm (11), fire (10).

1950s 4
1960s 4
1970s 6
1980s 6
1990s 14
2000s 11
2010s 21
2020s 19

The 15 most recent declarations in North Carolina
Declared	Number	Type	Title	Areas named
2026-01-24	EM-3637	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	102
2025-09-11	DR-4889	Tropical Depression	Tropical Depression Chantal	7
2025-05-03	FM-5582	Fire	Sunset Drive Fire	1
2025-04-20	FM-5580	Fire	Sam Davis Road Fire	1
2025-03-27	FM-5578	Fire	Table Rock Fire	1
2025-03-26	FM-5577	Fire	Alarka Fire	1
2025-03-22	FM-5574	Fire	Black Cove Fire Complex	1
2024-10-19	DR-4837	Tropical Storm	Potential Tropical Cyclone Eight	6
2024-09-28	DR-4827	Tropical Storm	Tropical Storm Helene	40
2024-09-26	EM-3617	Tropical Storm	Hurricane Helene	101
2024-08-06	EM-3608	Tropical Storm	Tropical Storm Debby	74
2022-10-01	EM-3586	Hurricane	Hurricane Ian	101
2021-09-08	DR-4617	Hurricane	Remnants of Tropical Storm Fred	11
2021-03-03	DR-4588	Severe Storm	Tropical Storm Eta	19
2020-10-14	DR-4568	Hurricane	Hurricane Isaias	16

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

Flood insurance claims in North Carolina

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $2.3 billion on 108,748 claims in 100 North Carolina counties. Claims count insured losses only.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk across North Carolina's counties

How FEMA's National Risk Index rates North Carolina's counties overall: a model of expected future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of events.

Relatively High 5
Relatively Moderate 26
Relatively Low 52
Very Low 17

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.