12 flood insurance claims·$32,985 paid·4 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 Bibb 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 driven by severe weather and tropical systems dominates the flood history of Bibb County. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 14 flash flood events, alongside 3 tropical storms, 3 general floods, and 2 tropical depressions. Heavy rainfall from regional weather systems and tropical remnants frequently threatens the area, as seen when the remnants of Hurricane Isaac brought heavy rainfall and flash flooding in September 2012, and when Tropical Storm Zeta tracked into Alabama in October 2020.
Federal Emergency Management Agency records show claims concentrated in specific hazard zones. Zone A accounts for 7 claims with an average payout of $2,094 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Zone V includes 3 claims with an average payout of $12,305 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Zone X records 2 claims with an average payout of $0 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A and Zone V, where historical claims and water depths indicate measurable flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 2 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 1985, with 2 claims and $19,434 paid.
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.
6 NOAA storm reports from Bibb County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Alabama flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 22, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Mar 25, 2021 |
| Hurricane Sally | Sep 14, 2020 |
| Hurricane Nate | Oct 6, 2017 |
| Hurricane Irma | Sep 8, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Straight-line Winds | Apr 27, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 15, 2011 |
| Hurricane Gustav | Aug 29, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
22 since 1996: 14 flash floods and 3 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm | Oct 28, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Dec 25, 2015 | — |
| Flood | Apr 7, 2014 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 4, 2012 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 9, 2011 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 21, 2009 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 21, 2009 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 20, 2009 | $75,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Tropical Storm · Oct 28, 2020. Tropical cyclone Zeta developed over the Western Caribbean Sea on Saturday, October 24, and slowly moved west. The tropical storm emerged into the Southern Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, October 27th. Zeta turned northwest and became a hurricane on Wednesday, October 28th. Zeta made landfall in southeast Louisiana late on Wednesday, then moved northeast into southwest Alabama late Wednesday night. The hurricane weaken…
Flash Flood · Dec 25, 2015. A low level boundary across southeast Alabama became the focus for heavy rainfall and severe weather during the early morning hours of December 24th. As the boundary lifted northward, the focus for heavy rainfall and severe weather shifted into north central Alabama.
Flood · Apr 7, 2014. On Sunday, April 6, a low pressure system developed in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico in response to a longwave trough crossing the central United States. The surface low tracked northeastward into Tennessee, bringing a warm front northward across Central Alabama. Warm, moist air rode over the warm front, leading to development of a large rain shield to the north of the frontal boundary. This rain slowly spread n…
Flash Flood · Sep 4, 2012. The remnants of Hurricane Issac brought heavy rainfall and flash flooding to Central Alabama during the first week of September. Hurricane Issac made landfall along the southeastern Louisiana coast late Tuesday, August 28 and slowly tracked northwestward through Louisiana and Arkansas for several days before turning to the east. The remnant upper level trough associated with Issac crossed Alabama on Monday and Tue…
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 Bibb 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.