Flood Zones and Flood History in Bertie County, North Carolina

Windsor's documented flood history

The Cashie River flows directly through the middle of Windsor, Bertie County's seat, on its way to the Roanoke River. In October 2016, Hurricane Matthew brought record flooding to the town, causing extensive damage to roads, bridges, homes, and Windsor's business district -- a well-documented event that remains a reference point for flood risk in the area. This is not a one-time or purely historical event: repeated hurricane and tropical-storm rainfall in the years since has kept flood risk along the Cashie an active, ongoing concern for the town and county.

In response, Windsor undertook a formal flood-mitigation program: using Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funds (75% federally funded), the town committed a total of roughly $5.2 million to acquire and demolish 30 flood-prone residences and elevate 10 more, specifically in accordance with Bertie County's own floodplain damage-prevention ordinance. FEMA has continued to fund flood-mitigation projects in North Carolina since, including a 2025 award exceeding $16.8 million for flood-loss mitigation across the state -- underscoring that this remains an active area of federal and local attention rather than a closed chapter.

Why this matters beyond Windsor itself

If your interest is land within or immediately around Windsor, this flood history is directly relevant -- a property's proximity to the Cashie River, its elevation, and whether it sits within a currently mapped Special Flood Hazard Area are all things to check with real specificity rather than assuming rural or small-town land is automatically low-risk. Beyond Windsor, Bertie County's broader landscape -- bounded by the Roanoke, Cashie, and Chowan Rivers, with its northeastern corner touching the Albemarle Sound region -- means river and tributary flooding is a genuine, recurring risk factor across a meaningful share of the county's land, not just within town limits.

That said, this page does not claim every acre of Bertie County carries elevated flood risk, nor does it extend this finding to a claim about Hurricane Helene (September 2024) causing comparable damage here -- Helene's most catastrophic North Carolina flooding was concentrated in the western mountains, and a Bertie-specific Helene flood event of similar severity to the 2016 Matthew flooding was not confirmed in this research pass. Confirm current, parcel-specific flood risk directly rather than assuming either a uniformly high or uniformly low risk based on the county's general river-corridor geography.

What to check before buying flood-prone land in Bertie County

Pull the current FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for the specific parcel via FEMA's Flood Map Service Center to determine its Special Flood Hazard Area status, and ask Bertie County's Planning/Inspections office whether the parcel is subject to the county's floodplain damage-prevention ordinance -- the same ordinance that governed Windsor's buyout-eligible properties. If the parcel is in or near Windsor specifically, ask the town directly whether it or nearby properties have been part of a prior buyout or elevation program, since that history can be a meaningful signal about the area's real flood risk beyond what a flood map alone shows. And regardless of location, get a clear read on flood insurance costs and availability (through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private carrier) before finalizing a purchase in any area with a documented flood history.