200 flood insurance claims·$3.0M 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 Morgan 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 weather events dominates Morgan County's flood history, supported by 111 recorded flash flood events alongside 36 general floods, 2 tropical storms, and 1 tropical depression over the last 30 years. Recent impacts are exemplified by slow-moving and back-building thunderstorm complexes on May 19, 2025, which produced heavy rainfall and flash flooding across the region.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood risks extend across multiple zones. Zone A accounts for the highest claim volume with 120 claims averaging a $16,408 payout and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X properties have also sustained damage, including 42 claims in standard Zone X areas averaging a $23,926 payout with an average water depth of 7 inches, 20 claims in shaded Zone X areas averaging a $28,149 payout with an average water depth of 2 inches, and 12 claims in unshaded Zone X areas averaging an $11,292 payout with an average water depth of 2 inches. Additionally, 5 claims with an unknown zone designation averaged a $6,208 payout and an average water depth of 28 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within high-risk Zone A, where the highest volume of historical flood claims has been recorded, as well as properties in Zone X areas where significant average payouts demonstrate that flood risk exists outside of designated special flood hazard areas.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
21% of Morgan County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
153 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 7 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 2013, with 26 claims and $510,897 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.
57 NOAA storm reports from Morgan County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Alabama flood stories →
24 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 22, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Mar 24, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Jan 12, 2023 |
| 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 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
150 since 1996: 111 flash floods and 36 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 23, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 19, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 19, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 12, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Aug 4, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Mar 22, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Mar 31, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 25, 2021 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Apr 23, 2025. Heavy rainfall occurred across portions of Northern Alabama on April 23rd. A few instances of flash flooding were reported as a result of the heavy rainfall, mainly in Morgan County, AL.
Flash Flood · May 19, 2025. A slow moving and back building complex of strong to severe thunderstorms move east from northern Mississippi across northern Alabama shortly after midnight before weakening and exiting into NW Georgia just before daybreak on the 19th. These storms produced damaging winds (particularly in north central Alabama) west of the I-65 corridor. Damage from a lightning strike in the Albertville area to a home caused a fam…
Flood · May 19, 2025. A slow moving and back building complex of strong to severe thunderstorms move east from northern Mississippi across northern Alabama shortly after midnight before weakening and exiting into NW Georgia just before daybreak on the 19th. These storms produced damaging winds (particularly in north central Alabama) west of the I-65 corridor. Damage from a lightning strike in the Albertville area to a home caused a fam…
Flash Flood · Feb 12, 2025. Two rounds of heavy rainfall affected Northern Alabama and Southern Middle Tennessee, with the first round producing widespread river flooding across the area. In addition, flash flooding occurred in several locations with the first event, and again with the second event just 48-72 hours later. While most river gage locations fell back below flood stage by the end of the week, the Tennessee River at Florence linge…
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 Morgan 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.