37 flood insurance claims·$396,563 paid·8 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 Covington 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 weather and tropical systems dominates the flood risk in Covington County. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 19 flash floods, 3 tropical storms, 2 hurricanes, and 1 general flood. Recent events include strong storms on May 17, 2024, that produced damaging wind gusts and flash flooding, as well as Hurricane Sally in September 2020, a slow-moving Category 2 storm that moved inland and produced widespread freshwater flooding across south-central Alabama.
Federal flood insurance claims data shows impacts across different zones. Properties in Zone A experienced the highest frequency with 30 claims, averaging an $11,317 payout and an average recorded water depth of 13 inches. Properties in Zone X accounted for 4 claims with an average payout of $29,111 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Zone X unshaded properties recorded 3 claims with an average payout of $43,868 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch.
Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone A should pay the closest attention to flood risks given the higher frequency of claims and greater average water depths, while properties in Zone X and unshaded Zone X areas must also account for potential severe water damage during major inland tropical systems and heavy rainfall events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
9% of Covington County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
33 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 9 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 1998, with 27 claims and $345,757 paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding, Severe Storms and Tornadoes and Hurricane Georges.
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.
7 NOAA storm reports from Covington County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Alabama flood stories →
33 federal disaster declarations since 1975, 8 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 22, 2024 |
| Hurricane Sally | Sep 14, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Apr 19, 2020 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Feb 5, 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 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
25 since 1996: 19 flash floods and 1 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 17, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 15, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 16, 2020 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 15, 2020 | $150,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 28, 2018 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 10, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2016 | — |
| Flood | Dec 24, 2015 | $3.2M |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 17, 2024. Strong to severe storms moved across Alabama into the Florida Panhandle producing damaging wind gusts and flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Jun 15, 2023. Unusually strong wind shear combined with strong instability and numerous disturbances led to a very active period of severe weather through the month of June. Numerous reports of large hail and damaging winds were recorded along with a few tornadoes.
Flash Flood · Sep 16, 2020. Hurricane Sally made landfall in Gulf Shores, AL at 5am on Wednesday, September 16th as a strong Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph. Sally produced widespread wind, storm surge, and freshwater flooding across coastal AL and the western Florida Panhandle. Flood and wind damage also extended well inland into inland southwest Alabama and south central Alabama. Sally was an extremely slow mov…
Tropical Storm · Sep 15, 2020. Hurricane Sally made landfall in Gulf Shores, AL at 5am on Wednesday, September 16th as a strong Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph. Sally produced widespread wind, storm surge, and freshwater flooding across coastal AL and the western Florida Panhandle. Flood and wind damage also extended well inland into inland southwest Alabama and south central Alabama. Sally was an extremely slow mov…
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 Covington 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.