Durham, NC
Durham County in North Carolina has 11 FEMA disaster declarations on record covering 1996–2022, most recently Hurricane Ian on Oct 1, 2022 (DR-3586). Its flood risk grade is A (Low risk), ranking #879 of 3,277 U.S. counties, with 34 NFIP flood insurance claims totaling $870,512 in payouts. Flood risk is relatively low compared to the national average.
FEMA Disaster Declarations in Durham County
The 11 most recent federally declared disasters affecting Durham County, NC (1996–2022). Total declarations on record: 11.
| Declared | Incident Type | Title | FEMA Disaster # |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2022 | Hurricane | Hurricane Ian | DR-3586 |
| Aug 2, 2020 | Hurricane | Hurricane Isaias | DR-3534 |
| Sep 3, 2019 | Hurricane | Hurricane Dorian | DR-3423 |
| Sep 14, 2018 | Hurricane | Hurricane Florence | DR-4393 |
| Sep 10, 2018 | Hurricane | Hurricane Florence | DR-3401 |
| Oct 7, 2016 | Hurricane | Hurricane Matthew | DR-3380 |
| Sep 5, 2005 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | DR-3222 |
| Sep 18, 2003 | Hurricane | Hurricane Isabel | DR-1490 |
| Sep 16, 1999 | Hurricane | Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations | DR-1292 |
| Sep 15, 1999 | Hurricane | Hurricane Floyd Emergency Declarations | DR-3146 |
| Sep 6, 1996 | Hurricane | Hurricane Fran | DR-1134 |
Score Breakdown
The composite score of 13 is calculated from four weighted factors. See our methodology for details.
Other Counties in North Carolina
| County | Grade | Score | Claims | Disasters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson | A | 13 | 4 | 11 |
| Mitchell | A | 13 | 3 | 11 |
| Pitt | A | 13 | 56 | 20 |
| Caswell | A | 13 | 0 | 11 |
| Chatham | A | 13 | 7 | 12 |
| McDowell | A | 13 | 13 | 11 |
More Counties in North Carolina
Frequently Asked Questions
How many FEMA disaster declarations does Durham County, NC have?
Durham County, NC has 11 federal disaster declarations on FEMA record (1996–2022). The 5 most recent are: Hurricane Ian (declared Oct 1, 2022, DR-3586); Hurricane Isaias (declared Aug 2, 2020, DR-3534); Hurricane Dorian (declared Sep 3, 2019, DR-3423); Hurricane Florence (declared Sep 14, 2018, DR-4393); Hurricane Florence (declared Sep 10, 2018, DR-3401). Counts include flood, severe storm, hurricane, and coastal storm declarations from the OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries dataset.
What is the flood risk grade for Durham County, NC?
Durham County is graded A (composite score 13/100, low risk). It ranks #879 of 3,277 U.S. counties for flood risk in our scoring model. The grade combines NFIP claims density (40%), disaster frequency (25%), claim severity (20%), and year-over-year trend (15%).
How many NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Durham County?
34 NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Durham County, NC, totaling $870,512 in payouts. The average claim is $25,603. Source: FEMA FimaNfipClaims v2 dataset.
Has Durham County, NC had any recent flood disasters?
Yes. The most recent FEMA declaration affecting Durham County was Hurricane Ian on Oct 1, 2022 (DR-3586). The county has 11 declared disasters in the OpenFEMA record covering 1996–2022.
The this entity record above pulls directly from FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims. What follows is the per-entity context — how this entity sits in the broader U.S. flood risk, NFIP claims, and disaster declarations distribution and which underlying factors drive the headline numbers.
The methodology behind every numeric value on this page is publicly documented on the FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims portal and described in detail on this site’s methodology page. Refresh cadence varies by underlying series; the page surfaces the as-of date for each number so readers can trace any figure back to the source release.
For readers using this page as a decision input, the related-entity pages elsewhere on the site provide the comparison set. The most useful comparison for this entity is typically a peer within U.S. ZIPs, counties, and states with similar size, similar exposure, or similar geography — not the national-level summary alone.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA datasets, 2026.