27 flood insurance claims·$813,740 paid·2 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 Blount 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 severe thunderstorms and heavy rain systems dominates the flood risk profile in Blount County, accounting for 39 of the 51 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 7 general floods, 3 tropical storms, and 2 tropical depressions.
Recent weather patterns illustrate this threat. On March 1, 2024, a surface low and stationary boundary produced widespread heavy showers across the region. Additionally, a multi-day severe weather event from May 16 to May 18, 2023, brought strong thunderstorms and flash flooding driven by a stalled surface frontal boundary.
Property owners should assess their specific zone designations to understand their exposure. FEMA records show that Zone A experienced 18 claims with an average payout of $15,571 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Zone X recorded 7 claims with a significantly higher average payout of $116,937 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches, while Zone X_UNSHADED logged 2 claims averaging $5,528 with an average water depth of 3 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents in designated high-risk zones, as well as properties outside standard flood zones that may still experience severe water accumulation, should pay close attention to these loss histories.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
10% of Blount County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
20 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 5 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 2015, with 4 claims and $526,760 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding.
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.
13 NOAA storm reports from Blount County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Alabama flood stories →
25 federal disaster declarations since 1974, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 22, 2024 |
| Hurricane Sally | Sep 14, 2020 |
| Severe Thunderstorms | Apr 12, 2020 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Feb 5, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Feb 19, 2019 |
| Hurricane Irma | Sep 8, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Dec 23, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 28, 2014 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
51 since 1996: 39 flash floods and 7 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Mar 1, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 18, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 4, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 17, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 31, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 6, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Feb 18, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 12, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Mar 1, 2024. A shortwave trough approaching the Mississippi Valley from the central Great Plains, along with a surface low in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico and stationary boundary along the Gulf Coast, contributed to widespread showers moving across Central Alabama during the morning hours of March 1. A ridge located over the East Coast promoted easterly surface winds across the area, with temperatures in the upper 40s to lo…
Flash Flood · May 18, 2023. A multi-day severe weather event unfolded across Central Alabama from May 16th through May 18th, 2023. An active northwest flow pattern coupled with a stalled out surface frontal boundary provided the ingredients necessary for strong to severe thunderstorms to develop during the heating of the day.
Flash Flood · Aug 4, 2023. An active northwest upper flow pattern produced several waves of convective storms during the first week of August.
Flash Flood · Feb 17, 2022. A highly sheared and dynamic storm system produced numerous strong and severe thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours on February 17th. Several supercells developed along a pre-frontal trough, which produced a few tornadoes. Additionally, several rounds of heavy rain produced some flash flooding along and|north of I-20, and strong gradient winds ahead of the front caused scattered tree damage.
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 Blount 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.