15,117 flood insurance claims·$362.7M paid·17 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 Mobile 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 Mobile County, which recorded 173 flash flood events over the last 30 years compared to 22 coastal flood events, 13 tropical storms, 13 storm surge or tide events, 7 general floods, and 3 hurricanes. This severe weather hazard was demonstrated in April 2025, when slow-moving, stationary storms dropped 8 to 12 inches of rain across Mobile and Baldwin counties, causing severe flooding.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that high-risk areas experience significant water depths during flood events. Zone A accounts for 8,494 claims with an average payout of $32,732 and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. Zone V accounts for 2,983 claims with an average payout of $31,374 and an average recorded water depth of 14 inches. Moderate- to low-risk areas are also affected, including Zone X with 1,323 claims averaging an average payout of $32,605 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches, Zone X Shaded with 532 claims averaging an average payout of $30,511 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches, and Zone X Unshaded with 1,495 claims averaging an average payout of $15,791 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches.
Homeowners and real estate professionals in Zone A and Zone V should pay the closest attention to flood risks due to the higher frequency of claims and greater average water depths, while properties in Zone X designations also carry verified historical claims.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
15% of Mobile County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
13,504 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 2005, with 3,628 claims and $221.5M paid, the year of Hurricane Dennis, Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Katrina Evacuation.
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.
65 NOAA storm reports from Mobile County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Alabama flood stories →
40 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 17 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 22, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Jan 12, 2023 |
| Hurricane Zeta | Oct 28, 2020 |
| 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 | Apr 28, 2014 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
231 since 1996: 173 flash floods, 7 river or area floods and 35 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 10, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 6, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 25, 2024 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Sep 12, 2024 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Sep 12, 2024 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Apr 10, 2024 | — |
| Coastal Flood | Jan 8, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 5, 2024 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 10, 2025. Thunderstorms moved across the area and produced damaging winds and heavy rain.
Flash Flood · Apr 6, 2025. Slow moving storms developed across Mobile and Baldwin county and become stationary. Some areas received 8 to 12 inches of rain causing severe flooding in parts of Mobile and Baldwin counties. Around 100 homes were damaged by flooding in Baldwin County.
Flash Flood · Jul 25, 2024. Strong thunderstorms stalled across downtown Mobile and caused heavy rain and flooding.
Coastal Flood · Sep 12, 2024. Hurricane Francine impacted much of the south central gulf coast states, making landfall in Louisiana. Tropical storm force winds and gusts extended eastward into Mississippi and Alabama, resulting in some minor damage across the area. Coastal flooding additionally impacted much of Mobile and Baldwin Counties.
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 Mobile 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.