NHC HURDAT2 · OpenFEMA · NWS Storm Events
Hurricane Florence (2018)
Florence in the federal records: the 280 cities near its track, flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and NWS reports.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
Hurricane Florence (2018) passed within 75 miles of 280 cities on this site in 3 states, 70 of them while it was at hurricane strength. Its peak wind on the NHC track was 150 mph (Category 4); the track runs from August 30, 2018 to September 18, 2018. It is on this list for 36 deaths in NWS reports that name it. The most cities within 75 miles were in South Carolina (168), North Carolina (89) and Georgia (23).
- Cities within 75 mi
- 280
- Peak wind
- 150 mph
- NFIP claims
- 16,803
- Deaths in NWS reports
- 36
70 at hurricane strength
Category 4
$735.5 million
512 reports
The full track, landfalls and every city it passed →
Where it came closest
| City | Closest | Wind on the track | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beaufort, NC | 47 mi | Category 2 (100 mph) | September 14, 2018 |
| Atlantic Beach, NC | 40 mi | Category 2 (99 mph) | September 14, 2018 |
| Morehead City, NC | 43 mi | Category 2 (99 mph) | September 14, 2018 |
| Newport, NC | 43 mi | Category 2 (99 mph) | September 14, 2018 |
| Oriental, NC | 64 mi | Category 2 (99 mph) | September 14, 2018 |
| Emerald Isle, NC | 34 mi | Category 2 (98 mph) | September 14, 2018 |
| Hubert, NC | 34 mi | Category 2 (98 mph) | September 14, 2018 |
| Swansboro, NC | 35 mi | Category 2 (98 mph) | September 14, 2018 |
| Maysville, NC | 47 mi | Category 2 (98 mph) | September 14, 2018 |
| Havelock, NC | 50 mi | Category 2 (98 mph) | September 14, 2018 |
| Cherry Point, NC | 51 mi | Category 2 (98 mph) | September 14, 2018 |
| New Bern, NC | 63 mi | Category 2 (98 mph) | September 14, 2018 |
The 12 cities with the strongest wind on the NHC best track at its closest point, of 280 within 75 miles. Wind on the track is not the wind felt in the city.
Flood insurance claims and federal declarations
National Flood Insurance Program policyholders filed 16,803 claims under its name and were paid $735.5 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of the time; that is the 20th most of the 104 tropical systems with claims under their name. North Carolina had 15,337 of them (91%), then South Carolina with 1,404 and Virginia with 62. Among the cities on this site, the most claims came from New Bern, NC: 2,395, paid $188.6 million. Claims data as of September 8, 2026. FEMA issued 3 major disaster declarations and 3 emergency declarations naming it, covering 385 designated areas in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia; the first came on September 10, 2018.
| City | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| New Bern, NC | 2,395 | $188.6 million |
| Wilmington, NC | 886 | $21.0 million |
| Holly Ridge, NC | 860 | $9.4 million |
| Oriental, NC | 698 | $20.7 million |
| Lumberton, NC | 613 | $27.7 million |
| Beaufort, NC | 573 | $12.5 million |
| Southport, NC | 518 | $8.7 million |
| Washington, NC | 481 | $11.3 million |
FEMA, OpenFEMA FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3 (claims whose flood event carries the storm's name, ZIP codes summed by city) and Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What the National Weather Service recorded
The National Weather Service logged 512 reports whose account names it, in 9 states: 213 flash flood, 93 flood, 86 tropical storm, 43 tornado and 22 strong wind. They record 36 deaths and 3 injuries, and $2.37 billion in estimated property and crop damage.
September 13, 2018, Cumberland, North Carolina: tropical storm, 2 killed, $1.5 million damage
NWS: “Frequent wind gusts of 50 to 70 mph resulted in numerous trees down across Cumberland County, including on homes, cars, power lines and damage to structures. |A husband and wife died (indirect) in a house fire.”
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, reports dated within the storm's track whose account names it. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses; some reports are unverified.
More notable storms
Why these storms and how each figure is counted: methodology.