195 flood insurance claims·$4.1M 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 Houston 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 storms dominates the flood risk profile in Houston County, Alabama, accounting for 66 of the 90 total recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 13 general floods, 9 tropical storms, and 2 hurricanes.
Severe weather events highlight this ongoing vulnerability. On February 12, 2024, a line of training thunderstorms caused considerable flash flooding across the county with rainfall amounts near 7 inches measured in just a few hours. Later that year, on September 26, 2024, Hurricane Helene produced peripheral tropical storm force wind gusts and impacts in southeast Alabama as it moved inland after making landfall in Florida.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, with Zone A recording 106 claims averaging a $31,339 payout and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Zone X accounts for 81 claims with an average payout of $19,510 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches, while 7 claims in unknown zones averaged a $5408 payout with an average recorded water depth of 8 inches, and 1 claim in a shaded Zone X averaged a $3,035 payout with an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Homeowners in Zone A and Zone X should pay the most attention to flood preparedness given these historical claim patterns and flood depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Houston County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
107 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 8 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 2009, with 52 claims and $1.5M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes & Straight-line.
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.
51 NOAA storm reports from Houston County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Alabama flood stories →
28 federal disaster declarations since 1975, 6 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 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Straight-line Winds | Apr 27, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
90 since 1996: 66 flash floods and 13 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm | Sep 26, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 14, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 12, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 12, 2024 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 12, 2024 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 10, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 9, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 21, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
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 14, 2024. Several showers and thunderstorms developed in association with the remnants of Hurricane Francine and a stalled frontal boundary. Several areas of rotation were detected, but no tornado touchdowns were reported. There was one report of a tree down in Walton county. In addition, heavy rainfall led to areas of flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Feb 12, 2024. A line of thunderstorms trained across parts of the tri-state area, bringing flash flooding to portions of southeast Alabama and southwest Georgia. Considerable flash flooding occurred across Houston county, Alabama where rainfall amounts near 7 inches were measured in just a few hours. In Georgia, rainfall amounts around 5 inches were observed. For the Florida panhandle, rainfall amounts were not as high, but…
Flash Flood · Apr 10, 2024. Clusters of thunderstorms moved across the tri-state area during the afternoon on April 10th. While most of the wind damage and significant flash flooding occurred across portions of northwest Florida and southern Georgia, there was a report of a tree blown down as well as some brief flash flooding in Houston County, AL as well.
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 Houston 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.