Orange, NC
Orange County in North Carolina has 12 FEMA disaster declarations on record covering 1996–2022, most recently Hurricane Ian on Oct 1, 2022 (DR-3586). Its flood risk grade is B (Moderate risk), ranking #121 of 3,277 U.S. counties, with 50 NFIP flood insurance claims totaling $4,330,621 in payouts. Flood risk is relatively low compared to the national average.
FEMA Disaster Declarations in Orange County
The 12 most recent federally declared disasters affecting Orange County, NC (1996–2022). Total declarations on record: 12.
| 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 |
| Jan 31, 2019 | Hurricane | Tropical Storm Michael | DR-4412 |
| 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 22 is calculated from four weighted factors. See our methodology for details.
Other Counties in North Carolina
| County | Grade | Score | Claims | Disasters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buncombe | B | 22 | 108 | 12 |
| Alamance | B | 22 | 11 | 12 |
| Guilford | B | 22 | 34 | 12 |
| Watauga | B | 23 | 42 | 14 |
| Davidson | B | 23 | 11 | 14 |
| Haywood | B | 21 | 63 | 11 |
More Counties in North Carolina
Frequently Asked Questions
How many FEMA disaster declarations does Orange County, NC have?
Orange County, NC has 12 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); Tropical Storm Michael (declared Jan 31, 2019, DR-4412); Hurricane Florence (declared Sep 14, 2018, DR-4393). Counts include flood, severe storm, hurricane, and coastal storm declarations from the OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries dataset.
What is the flood risk grade for Orange County, NC?
Orange County is graded B (composite score 22/100, moderate risk). It ranks #121 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 Orange County?
50 NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Orange County, NC, totaling $4,330,621 in payouts. The average claim is $86,612. Source: FEMA FimaNfipClaims v2 dataset.
Has Orange County, NC had any recent flood disasters?
Yes. The most recent FEMA declaration affecting Orange County was Hurricane Ian on Oct 1, 2022 (DR-3586). The county has 12 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.
Every number on this page links back to FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims; the methodology page describes the inputs, refresh cadence, and known limitations of the underlying data product.
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.