154 flood insurance claims·$2.8M paid·10 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 Geneva 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 summer thunderstorms and tropical weather systems dominates the flood character of Geneva County. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records show 44 flash flood events, 13 general flood events, 11 tropical storms, and 1 hurricane. Regional impacts are frequently driven by severe weather systems, such as Hurricane Helene in September 2024, which brought tropical storm-force wind gusts and peripheral effects to southeast Alabama, and heavy rainfall events like the storms on July 30, 2025, and February 12, 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood claims extend across multiple zones. Zone A accounts for 91 claims with an average payout of $21,068 and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X recorded 32 claims with an average payout of $19,855 and an average recorded water depth of 24 inches, and Zone X shaded recorded 6 claims with an average payout of $12,812 and an average recorded water depth of 195 inches. Zone unshaded recorded 12 claims with an average payout of $18,445 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches, while unknown zones accounted for 13 claims with an average payout of $11,143 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches.
Homeowners and real estate agents in both high-risk Special Flood Hazard Areas and moderate-to-low risk Zone X properties should pay close attention to these flood risks, given that significant water depths have been recorded outside of traditional high-risk zones during severe storms.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
17% of Geneva County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
109 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 19 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 52 claims and $993,674 paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding 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.
37 NOAA storm reports from Geneva County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Alabama flood stories →
33 federal disaster declarations since 1975, 10 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 22, 2024 |
| Hurricane Sally | Sep 14, 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 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 28, 2014 |
| Hurricane Isaac | Aug 26, 2012 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
69 since 1996: 44 flash floods and 13 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 30, 2025 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 26, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 26, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 18, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 17, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 12, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 9, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 18, 2022 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 30, 2025. A moist and unstable summer airmass led to the development of scattered afternoon thunderstorms, a few of which were strong to severe.
Tropical Storm · Sep 26, 2024. Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph and a minimum central pressure of 938 mb (27.70 inches) at about 11:10 PM EDT on Thursday, September 26th, in Taylor County Florida just east of the Aucilla River. Helene quickly moved inland across Taylor and Madison Counties before moving into Lowndes County in South Central Georgia. The hurricane produced peripheral…
Flash Flood · Sep 26, 2024. Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph and a minimum central pressure of 938 mb (27.70 inches) at about 11:10 PM EDT on Thursday, September 26th, in Taylor County Florida just east of the Aucilla River. Helene quickly moved inland across Taylor and Madison Counties before moving into Lowndes County in South Central Georgia. The hurricane produced peripheral…
Flash Flood · May 18, 2024. During the early morning hours of May 17th, a long lived derecho that impacted the north central Gulf coast clipped portions of Gulf and Franklin counties with significant wind gusts in excess of hurricane force measured, along with impacts to trees and power lines and minor structural damage. Later in the day and on May 18th, additional rounds of severe storms impacted the tri-state area with damage to trees and…
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 Geneva 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.