10 flood insurance claims·$186,064 paid·6 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 Coosa 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.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 22 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 2 claims and $72,162 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.
4 NOAA storm reports from Coosa County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Alabama flood stories →
23 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 22, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Mar 24, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Jan 12, 2023 |
| Hurricane Zeta | Oct 28, 2020 |
| Hurricane Sally | Sep 14, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Apr 19, 2020 |
| Hurricane Nate | Oct 6, 2017 |
| Hurricane Irma | Sep 8, 2017 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
9 since 1996: 4 flash floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Mar 27, 2023 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 29, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 9, 2011 | $75,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 19, 2009 | $5,000 |
| Tropical Depression | Nov 9, 2009 | $2,000 |
| Tropical Depression | Aug 23, 2008 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 29, 2005 | $60,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Jul 10, 2005 | $80,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Mar 27, 2023. A multi-day severe weather event produced all modes of severe weather across Central Alabama. An upper low parked over the Midwest States and an upper ridge over the Florida Peninsula produced a deep layer of moisture and shear over Alabama. A slow moving surface cold front provided the focus for severe storms late Saturday night and continuing through Monday morning.
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 · Mar 9, 2011. A line of thunderstorms moved through the state of Alabama on the morning of March 9th. Along with heavy rainfall that caused flash flooding in areas, these storms produced strong winds causing tree and structure damage.
Flash Flood · Sep 19, 2009. A slow moving upper level disturbance helped spark several days of thunderstorms across Central Alabama. The storms were slow moving, and produced very heavy rainfall in some locations, which led to flash flooding.
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 Coosa 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.