144 flood insurance claims·$1.9M 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 Colbert 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 risk profile in Colbert County, accounting for 121 of the 145 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 20 standard flood events and 4 tropical systems.
Severe weather events have historically brought significant hazards to the region, such as the upper-level trough that produced heavy rains and isolated flash flooding on June 17, 2025. Similarly, supercells moving across north Alabama on March 1, 2023, dropped a band of 3 to 6 inches of rainfall, resulting in excessive rainfall and flash flooding.
NFIP insurance claims data demonstrates that flood risk extends beyond designated high-risk areas. Zone A has recorded the highest impact with 102 claims, an average payout of $15,799, and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. However, properties outside of Zone A are also vulnerable; Zone X has logged 26 claims with an average payout of $25,519 and an average water depth of 3 inches, while Shaded Zone X, Unshaded Zone X, and Unknown zones account for a combined 16 claims with average water depths of 1 to 2 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents in both high-risk and moderate-to-low risk zones should closely evaluate their flood exposure given these historical claim patterns.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
12% of Colbert County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
116 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 1991, with 20 claims and $183,926 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.
65 NOAA storm reports from Colbert County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Alabama flood stories →
24 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 22, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Mar 24, 2023 |
| Hurricane Sally | Sep 14, 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, And Straight-line Winds | Apr 27, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
145 since 1996: 121 flash floods and 20 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 17, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 16, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 1, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Nov 29, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 16, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Apr 14, 2022 | — |
| Tropical Depression | Aug 30, 2021 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Mar 25, 2021 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 17, 2025. An upper level trough produced numerous thunderstorms during the afternoon hours on the 17th. These thunderstorms resulted in strong and gusty winds that knocked down trees, power lines and at least one power pole. Heavy rains also resulted in isolated flash flooding.
Flood · Feb 16, 2023. Rainfall amounts of 2.5-4 fell over the course of a few hours on the evening of February 16th. Widespread flooding occurred across portions of Cullman, Marshall, and into portions of Jackson and Dekalb Counties. Parts of I-65 were shut down, and several water rescues occurred in Cullman County that evening thanks to thunderstorms repeatedly moving across these areas in a very warm and moist airmass for mid-February.
Flash Flood · Mar 1, 2023. Supercells erupted during the late afternoon and early evening hours in northern Mississippi and spread east across north Alabama during the rest of the evening into the overnight hours. At least one tornado was determined to produce damage in northern Madison County near New Market. Other reports of damaging winds were reported. The other impact from this evening was excessive rainfall and flash flooding. A band…
Flood · Nov 29, 2022. Multiple rounds of thunderstorms, some strong to severe, moved through the region during the afternoon of the 29th into the early morning of the 30th. Supercell thunderstorms produced large hail and isolated damaging winds during the afternoon hours of the 29th in northwest into north central Alabama. Then, during the evening and overnight hours, another band of thunderstorms produced wind 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 Colbert 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.