As Floyd turned away from Florida, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) issued various tropical cyclone warnings and watches for the East Coast of the United States.

Late on September 14, the agency issued a hurricane watch for the North Carolina coast, which included the Pamlico and Albemarle sounds.

[4] Hurricane Floyd affected North Carolina less than two weeks after Tropical Storm Dennis moved through the state and saturated grounds.

[7] The interaction between Floyd and a cold front dropped torrential rainfall across the eastern United States, with the heaviest totals along the storm's path.

When a river gauge on the Tar near Greenville malfunctioned, a National Weather Service employee took manual observations every hour to document the record flood.

[3] Some rivers remained above flood stage for over a month, as additional rainfall from Hurricane Irene in October would again raise water levels soon after Floyd.

[7] When Floyd made landfall on North Carolina, the NHC estimated maximum sustained winds of around 105 mph (169 km/h).

[1] Along the Atlantic Coast, Albemarle Sound, and river basins, Floyd produced a significant storm tide.

[10] On September 16, 1999, then-President Bill Clinton declared an emergency for 66 counties in eastern North Carolina, as requested by Jim Hunt, the state's governor at the time.

The declaration authorized Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide resources and personnel, funding for 75% of the cost of debris removal, and loans from the Small Business Administration.

By a year after Floyd struck North Carolina, the state and federal government had provided $1.9 billion worth of assistance.

The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program spent $149.1 million to purchase 2,074 flooded homes and tear them down, preserving the land instead as green space.