69 flood insurance claims·$664,062 paid·3 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 Jackson 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 heavy rainfall and severe storms dominates the flood history of Jackson County, Alabama. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records show 53 flash flood events, 29 general flood events, and 3 tropical storm events. Recent NOAA narratives illustrate these threats, such as a severe weather and flash flooding outbreak on May 20, 2025, and two rounds of heavy rainfall causing river and flash flooding on February 12, 2025, which kept the Tennessee River above flood stage through February 19.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data demonstrate that flood risks extend across multiple zones. Zone A accounts for 40 claims with an average payout of $11,340 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X properties have filed 22 claims with an average payout of $16,705 and a higher average recorded water depth of 14 inches. An additional 5 claims were filed in unknown zones with an average payout of $1,418 and an average water depth of 1 inch, alongside minor claims in shaded and unshaded Zone X categories.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located in designated high-risk Special Flood Hazard Areas like Zone A, as well as moderate-to-low risk Zone X properties where claims data indicate that flooding events can still result in substantial water depths and insurance payouts.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
5% of Jackson County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
42 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 2003, with 14 claims and $181,698 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and 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.
53 NOAA storm reports from Jackson County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Alabama flood stories →
28 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 3 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, And Straight-line Winds | Apr 27, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 15, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
85 since 1996: 53 flash floods and 29 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 27, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Sep 24, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 20, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 13, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 12, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 27, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 9, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 16, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 27, 2025. Strong to severe thunderstorms, including miniature supercells, developed during the late afternoon and early evening hours before weakening and pushing east into Georgia after midnight. The thunderstorms produced damaging winds and a tornado in north central portions of Alabama. Isolated flash flooding occurred as well.
Flood · Sep 24, 2025. A combination of miniature supercells and segments of thunderstorms produced gusty winds and heavy rainfall. Excessive rainfall resulted in flash flooding in the Scottsboro area. Also, thunderstorm winds knocked down trees and power lines on the southeast side of Scottsboro.
Flash Flood · May 20, 2025. An outbreak of tornadoes, large hail, wind damage and flash flooding occurred during the afternoon and evening of the 20th. Fourteen tornadoes occurred in north Alabama, including 1 EF-0, 10 EF-1, 2 EF-2, and 1 EF-U (unknown) which was a waterspout on Wheeler Lake. One person was injured in Colbert County. There were also several reports of large hail, including baseball sized and larger in northern Lawrence and…
Flash Flood · Aug 13, 2025. A complex of showers and thunderstorms dropped southeats into northeast and north central Alabama during the early morning hours. Isolated flash flooding was reported in Jackson County. Additional clusters of thunderstorms developed during the midday into the afternoon across northwest Alabama. One of these thunderstorms knocked down a tree in Lauderdale County.
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 Jackson 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.