785 flood insurance claims·$11.6M paid·2 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 Madison 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 dominates the flood risk profile in Madison County, Alabama, driven by 203 flash flood events resulting in 2 deaths over the last 30 years, alongside 44 general flood events causing 1 death and 2 tropical storm events. This risk is exemplified by heavy rainfall over a 3-4 hour period on June 22, 2025, which caused widespread flash and nuisance flooding, closed roads, and forced numerous families to evacuate apartments in Harvest where 6-12 inches of water affected residences.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data demonstrates that property damage extends across multiple zones. Zone A accounts for the highest claim volume with 469 claims averaging an $18,908 payout and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Zone X properties recorded 210 claims with an average payout of $23,175 and an average recorded water depth of 17 inches. Additional claims occurred in Zone X_UNSHADED (39 claims, averaging $9,969 and an average water depth of 3 inches), Zone X_SHADED (32 claims, averaging $22,550 and an average water depth of 2 inches), and Zone UNKNOWN (29 claims, averaging $4,509 and an average water depth of 1 inch). Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone A and Zone X should pay the closest attention to these flood risks, given the substantial claim histories and recorded water depths in both zones.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
13% of Madison County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
543 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 6 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 1999, with 226 claims and $3.8M 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.
103 NOAA storm reports from Madison County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Alabama flood stories →
21 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 22, 2024 |
| Hurricane Sally | Sep 14, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Feb 19, 2019 |
| Hurricane Irma | Sep 8, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Straight-line Winds | Apr 27, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 15, 2011 |
| Hurricane Gustav | Aug 29, 2008 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
249 since 1996: 203 flash floods and 44 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Sep 23, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 20, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 15, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 9, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 21, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 18, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 2, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Sep 23, 2025. Heavy rainfall impacted portions of Limestone and Madison Counties in Northern Alabama, with several roads temporarily barricaded due to floodwaters. In all, 3-5 inches of rain occurred in East Limestone and Northwest Madison Counties.
Flash Flood · Jun 22, 2025. Heavy rainfall over a 3-4 hour period led to widespread flash and nuisance flooding across portions of Limestone and Madison Counties during the afternoon and early evening hours of the 22nd. Several roads were closed and numerous families had to be evacuated from their homes and apartments during the flooding in Harvest in Madison County, AL. 6-12 of water affected the apartments in Harvest, forcing residents to…
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…
Flash Flood · Mar 15, 2024. A line of strong to severe thunderstorms dropped southeast through north Alabama during the early morning hours of the 15th. Several trees were knocked down due to the high winds, especially in Morgan County. One brief EF-0 tornado also occurred in DeKalb County.||Heavy rainfall from thunderstorms repeatedly moving across portions of North Central and Northwestern Madison County resulted in flash flooding and wat…
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 Madison 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.