Blog · October 14, 2026 · North Carolina
Pender County Flood Zone Map in North Carolina
Look up any Pender County address on FEMA's flood map, read the zone, and match it to the parcel record for land around Topsail Beach.
Main page: Pender County, NC GIS & Parcel Viewer (official map link, Pender County facts and neighboring maps).
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Before you buy a house in Atkinson, add on to a barn near Watha, or price a lot along the creek bottoms near Currie, check the Pender County flood zone map. FEMA's free Flood Map Service Center and the Pender County parcel viewer answer it together.
The sections below go from the FEMA search to the Pender County parcel record, then cover insurance, permits and map changes near Watha.
How to check the Pender County flood zone map
The authoritative source for a Pender County flood zone map is FEMA, so begin at the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. The site returns the effective Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) panel covering that St. Helena location, which you can view or download. For an irregular lot near Surf City, the National Flood Hazard Layer viewer is easier to use, so you can see if the shading reaches a house near Surf City. Then open the Pender County ArcGIS parcel map for Pender County to confirm the parcel near St. Helena. Laying the county parcel outline beside the FEMA shading shows if a homesite near Surf City sits above or inside the zone.
Opening the Pender County parcel viewer
Pender County publishes its parcels on the Pender County ArcGIS parcel map, which runs on an Esri ArcGIS web map, free to use for a lot in Burgaw or a tract near St. Helena. Use the search box for an address in Burgaw or a parcel number, or simply zoom in and click a tract near St. Helena. If the official address for the Pender County, NC map ever changes, our directory page carries the current link for Burgaw and the rest of the county.
Zone A, AE and X in plain English
For a lot in St. Helena, the label matters more than the color: A and V zones are Special Flood Hazard Areas, land with a 1-percent chance of flooding in any given year (the base or 100-year flood). Where a Pender County tract shows Zone AE, there's a base flood elevation to compare a building against; in Zone A there isn't one. Land near Surf City in shaded X (Zone B on older maps) falls between the base flood and the 500-year flood. Clear, unshaded X near St. Helena is outside the 500-year floodplain.
Low ground and small streams around St. Helena
A creek near Surf City that shows no detailed zone, which is why it is worth walking the ground after a heavy rain.
Pender County land records
Deeds and recorded plats for Pender County are filed with the Register of Deeds. For a lot near Burgaw, the recorded plat and deed are with the Pender County Register of Deeds. A deed book and page or instrument number on the county record is the fastest way to order the document for a lot in Wallace.
Tracts that cross the Pender County line
Near the edge of the county, check the next map over: Bladen County, Brunswick County, Columbus County, Duplin County, and New Hanover County all border it. Our North Carolina page links each map neighboring Pender County.
Pender County at a glance
Burgaw is the county seat, and Atkinson, Surf City, Topsail Beach, and Wallace are among the other towns on the county map. Smaller places such as Hampstead, Long Creek, and Rocky Point appear on the Pender County map as little clusters of lots. Roughly 871 square miles of land and about 68,521 residents (2023 estimate) make up Pender County. The Pender County map mixes subdivision lots near Topsail Beach with farm and wooded tracts farther out.
What a flood zone means for a Pender County buyer
Lenders watch the zone closely on Pender County properties. Where a building in St. Helena is mapped in a high-risk zone and is financed by a regulated or federally insured lender, flood insurance is mandatory under the Flood Disaster Protection Act, wherever the community joins the NFIP. Outside the A zones around Surf City, federal rules do not require a policy; pricing a policy for land near Surf City is still worth a call. If a building near Surf City sits above the flood line, a Letter of Map Amendment request is the formal route, generally backed by an elevation certificate from a surveyor who works in the county. Adding on to a house near Surf City inside the zone commonly requires a permit and an elevation check, so call the county or the town office in St. Helena before work starts.
Pender County flood zones questions
Is Zone AE near Wallace high risk?
Yes, a tract near Wallace in Zone AE is high risk: a 1-percent-annual-chance floodplain where FEMA lists a base flood elevation.
Do I need flood insurance in Zone X in Pender County?
FEMA doesn't require it for a Zone X lot in Atkinson, but coverage is available and some lenders ask for it.
Do I need a permit to build in the floodplain near Atkinson?
Building in a Special Flood Hazard Area near Atkinson generally needs a floodplain permit and may require elevating the structure, so check with the county floodplain administrator.
What does 100-year flood mean for Pender County land?
No; land near Wallace in the 100-year floodplain has a 1-percent chance of flooding every year, so floods can come in back-to-back years.
Where do I get an elevation certificate in Pender County?
Hire a licensed surveyor or engineer who works in Pender County; ask the local floodplain office first in case one exists.
What does BFE mean on the flood map for Atkinson?
For a county property in Zone AE, the BFE is the height floodwater is expected to reach in the 1-percent-annual-chance flood, and a surveyor compares the building near Atkinson to it.
Open the official Pender County, NC parcel map Pender County in the Platbookmapper directory
Not a survey. County GIS and tax parcel maps are assessment and planning layers. They are not a substitute for a recorded plat, deed, or licensed survey, especially for fences, setbacks, or boundary disputes.