115 flood insurance claims·$670,842 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 Hale 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 history of Hale County, Alabama, supported by 12 flash flood events, 6 general flood events, and 5 tropical cyclone events recorded over the last 30 years.
Historical impacts are driven by large-scale weather systems moving inland from the Gulf of Mexico, such as the remnants of Hurricane Isaac bringing heavy rainfall and flash flooding in September 2012, and the passage of Tropical Storm Zeta in October 2020. Additional flash flooding occurred in July 2013 from a southward-moving mesoscale convective system and in April 2014 from a low pressure system producing a persistent rain shield across the region.
National Flood Insurance Program records show that properties in high-risk Zone A have experienced the heaviest impacts, logging 62 claims with an average payout of $12,093 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Properties in Zone UNKNOWN recorded 45 claims with an average payout of $3,123 and an average water depth of 2 inches, while Zone X properties recorded 8 claims with an average payout of $3,464 and an average water depth of 4 inches. Homeowners in Zone A and unmapped areas should pay the closest attention to flood risks given these historical claim patterns and the county's frequency of intense rainfall events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Hale County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
62 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 1980, with 19 claims and $19,994 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.
6 NOAA storm reports from Hale County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Alabama flood stories →
23 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 22, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Jan 12, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Mar 25, 2021 |
| Hurricane Zeta | Oct 28, 2020 |
| Hurricane Sally | Sep 14, 2020 |
| Hurricane Nate | Oct 6, 2017 |
| Hurricane Irma | Sep 8, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Straight-line Winds | Apr 27, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
23 since 1996: 12 flash floods and 6 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm | Oct 28, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 7, 2014 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 11, 2013 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 3, 2012 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 3, 2012 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 9, 2011 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 9, 2011 | $75,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 29, 2010 | $10,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
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 · Apr 7, 2014. On Sunday, April 6, a low pressure system developed in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico in response to a longwave trough crossing the central United States. The surface low tracked northeastward into Tennessee, bringing a warm front northward across Central Alabama. Warm, moist air rode over the warm front, leading to development of a large rain shield to the north of the frontal boundary. This rain slowly spread n…
Flash Flood · Jul 11, 2013. On Thursday, July 11th, a mesoscale convective system (MCS) developed across the Tennessee Valley and pushed southward into Central Alabama. New development along the western edge of the MCS developed southwestward and resulted in isolated flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Sep 3, 2012. The remnants of Hurricane Issac brought heavy rainfall and flash flooding to Central Alabama during the first week of September. Hurricane Issac made landfall along the southeastern Louisiana coast late Tuesday, August 28 and slowly tracked northwestward through Louisiana and Arkansas for several days before turning to the east. The remnant upper level trough associated with Issac crossed Alabama on Monday and Tue…
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 Hale 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.