States › North Carolina › 1989
North Carolina, 1989
The year's recorded storm events, federal disaster declarations and flood insurance claims.
NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders.
Events by hazard
Includes events recorded by forecast zone. The state's yearly total for 1989 was 430 against 359 in 1988.
Counties with the most recorded events
Notable events
| Date | County | Event type | Magnitude | Property damage | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 May 1989 | Lincoln | Tornado | F4 | $25,000,000 | 4 | 19 |
| 6 May 1989 | Iredell | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 mph | — | 2 | — |
| 5 May 1989 | Union | Tornado | F4 | $25,000,000 | 1 | 6 |
| 21 Feb 1989 | Harnett | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 mph | — | 1 | 5 |
| 16 Jun 1989 | Guilford | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 mph | — | 1 | — |
| 5 May 1989 | Forsyth | Tornado | F3 | $25,000,000 | — | 30 |
| 5 May 1989 | Cleveland | Tornado | F4 | $25,000,000 | — | 30 |
| 30 Mar 1989 | Northampton | Tornado | F2 | $2,500,000 | — | 11 |
| 5 May 1989 | Forsyth | Tornado | F2 | $2,500,000 | — | 10 |
| 5 May 1989 | Forsyth | Tornado | F2 | $2,500,000 | — | 8 |
| 5 May 1989 | Catawba | Tornado | F4 | $25,000,000 | — | 3 |
| 5 May 1989 | Durham | Tornado | F2 | $25,000,000 | — | — |
| 21 Feb 1989 | Moore | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 mph | — | — | 2 |
| 21 Feb 1989 | Anson | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 mph | — | — | 2 |
| 21 Feb 1989 | Pitt | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 mph | — | — | 2 |
| 21 Feb 1989 | Pitt | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 mph | — | — | 2 |
| 5 May 1989 | Anson | Tornado | F1 | $2,500,000 | — | 1 |
| 4 Jun 1989 | Dare | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | 1 |
| 16 Jun 1989 | Chatham | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 mph | — | — | 1 |
| 29 Apr 1989 | Nash | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 mph | — | — | 1 |
| 12 Jun 1989 | Wilkes | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 mph | — | — | 1 |
| 25 Apr 1989 | Durham | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 mph | — | — | 1 |
| 5 May 1989 | Henderson | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 mph | — | — | 1 |
| 16 Jun 1989 | Stanly | Tornado | F1 | $2,500,000 | — | — |
| 5 May 1989 | Granville | Tornado | F1 | $2,500,000 | — | — |
| 16 Jun 1989 | Randolph | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 5 May 1989 | Stanly | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 5 May 1989 | Rutherford | Tornado | F4 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 5 May 1989 | Caldwell | Tornado | F2 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 20 Mar 1989 | Carteret | Tornado | F2 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 26 Jun 1989 | Tyrrell | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 21 Feb 1989 | Onslow | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 23 Sep 1989 | Carteret | Tornado | F0 | $25,000 | — | — |
| 16 Jul 1989 | Durham | Tornado | F1 | $25,000 | — | — |
| 16 Jun 1989 | Randolph | Tornado | F1 | $25,000 | — | — |
| 12 Jun 1989 | Harnett | Tornado | F1 | $25,000 | — | — |
| 28 Jun 1989 | Chatham | Tornado | F1 | — | — | — |
| 21 Feb 1989 | Chowan | Tornado | F1 | — | — | — |
Up to 40 events with deaths, injuries, damage of $50,000 or more, or a tornado rating, ranked by deaths, injuries and damage.
Federal disaster declarations in 1989
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 Sep 1989 | DR-844 | Major disaster | Hurricane | Hurricane Hugo | 29 |
| 17 May 1989 | DR-827 | Major disaster | Tornado | Tornadoes | 13 |
Flood insurance claims with a 1989 date of loss
2,137 NFIP claims, 1,646 of them paid, for $17,051,798.
Sources: NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 (1 Oct 2026); OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 (8 Sep 2026). Built 1 Oct 2026.