196 flood insurance claims·$2.0M paid·7 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 Dallas 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 summer thunderstorms and tropical systems dominates the flood risk profile in Dallas County, accounting for 15 flash flood events alongside impacts from tropical storms and depressions over the last 30 years. Heavy rainfall events are well-documented in the historical record, such as in May 2018 when sub-tropical storm Alberto tracked northward as a depression and produced heavy rainfall and sustained winds, and in May 2025 when training thunderstorms brought several inches of rain and street flooding to the Selma area.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, with the highest volume concentrated in Zone A at 116 claims with an average payout of $14,410 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Properties outside traditionally mapped high-risk areas also experience losses; Zone X accounts for 21 claims with an average payout of $28,508 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches, while unshaded Zone X properties recorded an average water depth of 7 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone A and Zone X should pay the closest attention to these historical flood impacts when evaluating property risk.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
15% of Dallas County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
137 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 1990, with 99 claims and $1.1M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes & 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.
10 NOAA storm reports from Dallas County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Alabama flood stories →
27 federal disaster declarations since 1975, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 22, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Jan 12, 2023 |
| Hurricane Zeta | Oct 28, 2020 |
| Hurricane Sally | Sep 14, 2020 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Feb 5, 2020 |
| Hurricane Nate | Oct 6, 2017 |
| Hurricane Irma | Sep 8, 2017 |
| Hurricane Isaac | Aug 26, 2012 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
21 since 1996: 15 flash floods and 1 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 10, 2025 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 28, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 30, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 14, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 14, 2013 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 4, 2012 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 9, 2011 | $75,000 |
| Tropical Depression | Nov 9, 2009 | $2,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 10, 2025. An upper low positioned over Mississippi brought widespread rain and thunderstorms across the area, generally from south to north. A couple instances of training thunderstorms brought several inches of rain to the Tuscaloosa and Selma areas, resulting in areas of street flooding. One thunderstorm just east of Selma briefly produced quarter-size hail in Burnsville.
Tropical Storm · Oct 28, 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 · May 30, 2018. Sub-tropical storm Alberto made landfall in the western Florida Panhandle Monday evening, Monday May 28th. The cyclone advanced northward into Central Alabama during the overnight hours and into Tuesday, May 29th. It was downgraded to a depression as it entered the southern counties of Central Alabama. The depression produced sustained winds of 25-35 mph across Central Alabama along with heavy rainfall. The dura…
Flash Flood · Apr 14, 2018. An upper level trough moving across the Middle Mississippi River Valley Region took on a negative tilt and produced a QLCS that impacted the Central Gulf Coast States. The QLCS produced sporadic wind damage as it moved across Central Alabama. Precipitable water values were abnormally high and the slow moving system produced storm totals of 3-4 inches across areas west of I-65. Localized storms totals were near 6…
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 Dallas 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.