40 flood insurance claims·$1.0M paid·5 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 DeKalb 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 heavy rainfall events dominates the flood history of DeKalb County, accounting for 62 of the past 30 years of NOAA-recorded flood events and resulting in 3 deaths, alongside 24 standard floods and 3 tropical storms. Recent NOAA records illustrate this hazard, noting that excessive rainfall from slow-moving thunderstorms caused brief isolated flash flooding in the county on August 20, 2025. Another significant event occurred on February 12, 2025, when two rounds of heavy rainfall produced widespread river flooding and flash flooding across the region within a 48 to 72-hour period.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that property owners in both high-risk and moderate-to-low-risk zones have experienced flood impacts. Zone A properties recorded 23 claims with an average payout of $22,846 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X properties logged 9 claims with an average payout of $114,807 and an average recorded water depth of 16 inches, while Zone X unshaded areas recorded 7 claims with an average payout of $5,016 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents in both designated high-risk riverine areas and moderate-risk zones should pay close attention to these historical claim depths and flood frequencies when evaluating property risk.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
26% of DeKalb County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
31 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 4 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 1995, with 13 claims and $113,863 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes and Hurricane Opal.
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.
34 NOAA storm reports from DeKalb County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Alabama flood stories →
34 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 22, 2024 |
| Hurricane Sally | Sep 14, 2020 |
| Severe Thunderstorms | Apr 12, 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, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 28, 2014 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Straight-line Winds | Apr 27, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
89 since 1996: 62 flash floods and 24 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 20, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Aug 20, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 12, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 6, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 29, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 25, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 19, 2021 | — · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | May 4, 2021 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 20, 2025. Widespread clusters of strong to severe thunderstorms, some with intense rainfall in a short period of time, developed during the early to mid afternoon hours. The thunderstorms moved slowly south to southwest, merging in some areas to produce very heavy rainfall. Excessive rainfall resulted in brief isolated flash flooding in Dekalb and Madison Counties. ||Flash Flooding in DeKalb.|Flash Flooding of Sparkman Driv…
Flood · Aug 20, 2025. Widespread clusters of strong to severe thunderstorms, some with intense rainfall in a short period of time, developed during the early to mid afternoon hours. The thunderstorms moved slowly south to southwest, merging in some areas to produce very heavy rainfall. Excessive rainfall resulted in brief isolated flash flooding in Dekalb and Madison Counties. ||Flash Flooding in DeKalb.|Flash Flooding of Sparkman Driv…
Flash Flood · Feb 12, 2025. Two rounds of heavy rainfall affected Northern Alabama and Southern Middle Tennessee, with the first round producing widespread river flooding across the area. In addition, flash flooding occurred in several locations with the first event, and again with the second event just 48-72 hours later. While most river gage locations fell back below flood stage by the end of the week, the Tennessee River at Florence linge…
Flash Flood · Jun 6, 2025. A complex of strong to severe thunderstorms formed along and ahead of a pre-front trough axis that move along a stalled front well to our north on June 6th. Most of the severe storms occurred in near and east of the I-65 corridor.
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 DeKalb 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.