417 flood insurance claims·$6.7M paid·5 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 Montgomery 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 floods from slow-moving thunderstorms dominate the flood history of Montgomery County, which recorded 41 flash flood events, 8 general floods, 4 tropical storms, and 3 tropical depressions over the last 30 years. Recent impacts include a prolonged all-hazards flooding event from slow-moving thunderstorms on April 6, 2025, and isolated flooding on August 23, 2025, when 4 to 5 inches of rain closed Meriwether Road in Pike Road.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, indicating risk extends beyond standard high-risk areas. Zone A accounted for 239 claims with an average payout of $21,257 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Zone X recorded 130 claims with an average payout of $28,828 and an average recorded water depth of 15 inches. Additionally, Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 11 claims with an average payout of $42,019 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located in Zone A and Zone X, as both areas have experienced significant claim volumes and substantial average water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
9% of Montgomery County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
271 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 2009, with 89 claims and $2.5M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, and Straight-line Winds.
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.
17 NOAA storm reports from Montgomery County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Alabama flood stories →
24 federal disaster declarations since 1975, 5 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, And Straight-line Winds | Apr 27, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 15, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, And Straight-line Winds | May 6, 2009 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
56 since 1996: 41 flash floods and 8 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 23, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 6, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 13, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 11, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 4, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 27, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 25, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 2, 2021 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 23, 2025. Thunderstorm activity over Elmore and Montgomery counties late on August 23 led to isolated flooding issues. Highway 14 west of Wetumpka had minor flooding after a couple inches of rain fell. Meanwhile, more extensive flooding took place around Meriwether Rd in Pike Road, with the roadway being closed after radar estimates of 4-5 of rain fell in the immediate area.
Flash Flood · Apr 6, 2025. Deep-layer ridging over the Southeast United States held up a trough over the Central United States for the first few days of April, leading to a prolonged and significant severe weather and flooding event from Texas to Ohio and West Virginia along a stalled boundary. As the ridge began to retreat eastward, a cold front slowly progressed through Central Alabama on April 6, with an all-hazards weather event unfoldi…
Flood · Feb 13, 2024. A slow-moving storm system brought several inches of rainfall to most of Central Alabama from early morning on February 11 through the evening of February 12. While most areas saw at least 1-2 inches of rain, parts of southern and southeastern Central Alabama recorded as much as 8 inches, especially across parts of Lee, Macon, and Russell counties. Waves of heavy rainfall resulted in flooding along the Interstate…
Flash Flood · Feb 11, 2024. A slow-moving storm system brought several inches of rainfall to most of Central Alabama from early morning on February 11 through the evening of February 12. While most areas saw at least 1-2 inches of rain, parts of southern and southeastern Central Alabama recorded as much as 8 inches, especially across parts of Lee, Macon, and Russell counties. Waves of heavy rainfall resulted in flooding along the Interstate…
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 Montgomery 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.