27 flood insurance claims·$386,576 paid·3 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 Cherokee 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 rainfall dominates the flood history of Cherokee County, accounting for the majority of recorded events over the last 30 years alongside general floods, tropical storms, and tropical depressions. NOAA storm records document significant impacts from these weather patterns, including heavy rainfall on May 27 that caused several impassable roadways along Terrapin Creek.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood claims have been filed across multiple zones, with Zone A properties accounting for 18 claims with an average payout of $17,164 and an average recorded water depth of 13 inches. Properties in Zone X recorded 6 claims with an average payout of $44,468 and an average recorded water depth of 19 inches, while Zone V recorded a single claim with an average payout of $12,875 and zero recorded water depth.
Property owners and real estate agents in Cherokee County should pay the closest attention to these risks, particularly homeowners located in designated high-risk Zone A areas near waterways like Terrapin Creek, as well as those in moderate-to-low risk Zone X areas where lower-frequency flooding has resulted in higher average property damage payouts and greater recorded water depths.
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 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 2019, with 11 claims and $91,539 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, 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.
22 NOAA storm reports from Cherokee County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Alabama flood stories →
25 federal disaster declarations since 1974, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 22, 2024 |
| Hurricane Zeta | Oct 28, 2020 |
| Hurricane Sally | Sep 14, 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, And Straight-line Winds | Apr 27, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 15, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
41 since 1996: 24 flash floods and 9 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 27, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 2, 2025 | — |
| Tropical Depression | Sep 27, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Mar 1, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Sep 4, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 4, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 25, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 19, 2021 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 27, 2025. Several afternoons of thunderstorm activity occurred during the fourth week of May, with hail and wind damage being reported around Central Alabama over the course of four days. In addition, heavy rainfall on May 27 resulted in several impassable roadways along Terrapin Creek in Cherokee County.
Flash Flood · Aug 2, 2025. Slow-moving thunderstorms occurred during the afternoon of August 1. One storm dumped 2-3 of rain over a localized area of Vestavia Hills and northern Hoover in less than an hour, resulting in numerous street flooding issues along Highway 31 and nearby roadways. The next day, heavy rainfall developed along a boundary between the I-59 and I-20 corridors in northeast Central Alabama during the afternoon and evening…
Tropical Depression · Sep 27, 2024. Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane along the Florida Big Bend/Panhandle late on September 26. As the center of circulation passed northward through Georgia overnight and the next morning, tropical depression-like effects were felt across far eastern Central Alabama, with wind gusts of 30-40 mph bringing down trees and a few power lines in several counties.
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…
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 Cherokee 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.