19,745 flood insurance claims·$652.5M paid·16 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Baldwin County, Alabama. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Flash flooding from slow-moving storms and heavy rainfall dominates the flood risk profile in Baldwin County, alongside significant coastal and tropical hazards. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 125 flash flood events, 15 storm surge or tide events, 11 tropical storms, 8 standard floods, 8 coastal floods, and 3 hurricanes. A severe example occurred in April 2025, when stationary storms dropped 8 to 12 inches of rain, causing severe flooding that damaged around 100 homes in the county.
Federal insurance claims data demonstrates widespread risk across multiple zones. High-risk areas account for the majority of claims, with Zone A recording 12,081 claims at an average payout of $37,370 and an average recorded water depth of 14 inches, and Zone V recording 5,032 claims at an average payout of $29,588 and an average water depth of 15 inches. Moderate-to-low risk areas also experience significant impacts; Zone X recorded 1,574 claims with an average payout of $74,404 and an average water depth of 11 inches, Zone X Unshaded recorded 650 claims with an average payout of $180,414 and an average water depth of 27 inches, and Zone X Shaded recorded 316 claims with an average payout of $56,391 and an average water depth of 21 inches.
Coastal property owners, residents in low-lying areas subject to storm surge and tropical systems, and property owners in Zone X Unshaded—who experienced the highest average water depths and payouts—should pay the closest attention to these flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
5% of Baldwin County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
18,079 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 15 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 2004, with 5,411 claims and $328.4M paid, the year of Hurricane Ivan.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
54 NOAA storm reports from Baldwin County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Alabama flood stories →
38 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 16 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 22, 2024 |
| Hurricane Sally | Sep 14, 2020 |
| Hurricane Michael | Oct 10, 2018 |
| Hurricane Nate | Oct 6, 2017 |
| Hurricane Irma | Sep 8, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 28, 2014 |
| Hurricane Isaac | Aug 26, 2012 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Straight-line Winds | Apr 27, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
170 since 1996: 125 flash floods, 8 river or area floods and 23 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Oct 26, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 13, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 6, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 13, 2024 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Sep 12, 2024 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Apr 10, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 27, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 19, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Oct 26, 2025. Slow moving storms caused heavy rainfall and flooding in southwest Alabama.
Flash Flood · Apr 6, 2025. Slow moving storms developed across Mobile and Baldwin county and become stationary. Some areas received 8 to 12 inches of rain causing severe flooding in parts of Mobile and Baldwin counties. Around 100 homes were damaged by flooding in Baldwin County.
Flash Flood · May 13, 2024. Severe thunderstorms moved across southwest Alabama and produced large hail and damaging winds.
Coastal Flood · Sep 12, 2024. Hurricane Francine impacted much of the south central gulf coast states, making landfall in Louisiana. Tropical storm force winds and gusts extended eastward into Mississippi and Alabama, resulting in some minor damage across the area. Coastal flooding additionally impacted much of Mobile and Baldwin Counties.
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Baldwin County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.