3 flood insurance claims·$62,115 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 Bullock 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 storms and tropical systems dominates the flood history of Bullock County. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 10 flash flood events, 4 tropical storm events, and 2 tropical depression events.
Heavy rainfall from passing tropical systems and stalled frontal boundaries regularly causes significant inundation. For instance, Hurricane Sally brought 4 to 8 inches of rain—with localized amounts near 12 inches—across southeast Alabama in September 2020. Similarly, a slow-moving cold front produced 4 to 6 inches of rainfall over a three-hour period, resulting in flash flooding in February 2022. Tropical systems such as Hurricane Michael in October 2018 and Tropical Storm Zeta in October 2020 also impacted the region with heavy rainfall and strong winds.
Federal flood insurance data reflects losses across limited reporting categories. The National Flood Insurance Program records 2 claims in Zone UNKNOWN with an average payout of $4,570 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches, alongside 1 claim in Zone X with an average payout of $52,974 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents should note that properties located in Zone X or unmapped areas remain vulnerable to significant financial loss from intense rainfall events.
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.
7 NOAA storm reports from Bullock County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Alabama flood stories →
24 federal disaster declarations since 1975, 4 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 | Dec 23, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 28, 2014 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Straight-line Winds | Apr 27, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
16 since 1996: 10 flash floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Feb 3, 2022 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 29, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 16, 2020 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 10, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Dec 24, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 14, 2013 | — |
| Flash Flood | Dec 14, 2009 | $10,000 |
| Tropical Depression | Nov 9, 2009 | $2,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Feb 3, 2022. A slow moving cold front moved through Central Alabama during the afternoon and overnight hours on February 3-4. A supercell thunderstorm developed in far eastern Mississippi and produced three EF2 tornadoes as it moved across west Alabama. Additional storms produced 2 EF0 tornadoes in Elmore County. A line of storms stalled along and south of the Interstate 85 corridor, resulting in a period of heavy rainfall an…
Tropical Storm · Oct 29, 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 · Sep 16, 2020. Hurricane Sally made landfall early Wednesday morning on September 16, near Gulf Shores, Alabama. Sally weakened quickly after moving inland and tracked northeast across southeast Alabama during the overnight hours on Wednesday, September 16th, and the morning hours on Thursday, September 17th.||The main impacts for Central Alabama were felt along and south of Interstate 85, where 4-8 inches of rain fell, with loc…
Tropical Storm · Oct 10, 2018. The center of Tropical Cyclone Michael come ashore as a high end category four hurricane just east of Panama City, Florida, during the early afternoon on Wednesday, October 10th. The southeast portions of Central Alabama were under a Tropical Storm warning and experienced heavy rainfall and wind gusts of 35 to 45 mph.
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 Bullock 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.