2 flood insurance claims·$7,315 paid·6 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 Perry 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 severe storms and tropical systems dominates the flood history of Perry County, Alabama. Over the past 30 years, recorded events include nine flash floods, three tropical storms, two tropical depressions, and one standard flood.
Historical impacts are well-documented by tropical and convective systems passing through the region. For example, Sub-tropical Storm Alberto tracked northward into Central Alabama in May 2018, producing heavy rainfall and sustained winds that uprooted numerous trees. Earlier that spring in April 2018, a slow-moving system driven by abnormally high precipitable water values produced storm totals of 3 to 4 inches west of Interstate 65, with localized totals near 6 inches. Additionally, Tropical Storm Zeta tracked into southwest Alabama in October 2020 after making landfall in Louisiana.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate minimal historical claims, consisting of one claim in Zone A with an average payout of $4,828 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches, and one claim in Zone X_SHADED with an average payout of $2,487 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches. Property owners located within FEMA-designated Zone A and low-lying areas prone to intense convective rainfall should pay the closest attention to local flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 4 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.
8 NOAA storm reports from Perry County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Alabama flood stories →
24 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 22, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Mar 25, 2021 |
| Hurricane Zeta | Oct 28, 2020 |
| Hurricane Sally | Sep 14, 2020 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Feb 5, 2020 |
| Hurricane Nate | Oct 6, 2017 |
| Hurricane Irma | Sep 8, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Dec 23, 2015 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
15 since 1996: 9 flash floods and 1 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm | Oct 28, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 30, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 14, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 3, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 9, 2011 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 15, 2010 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 19, 2009 | — |
| Tropical Depression | Nov 9, 2009 | $1,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Tropical Storm · Oct 28, 2020. Tropical cyclone Zeta developed over the Western Caribbean Sea on Saturday, October 24, and slowly moved west. The tropical storm emerged into the Southern Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, October 27th. Zeta turned northwest and became a hurricane on Wednesday, October 28th. Zeta made landfall in southeast Louisiana late on Wednesday, then moved northeast into southwest Alabama late Wednesday night. The hurricane weaken…
Flash Flood · May 30, 2018. Sub-tropical storm Alberto made landfall in the western Florida Panhandle Monday evening, Monday May 28th. The cyclone advanced northward into Central Alabama during the overnight hours and into Tuesday, May 29th. It was downgraded to a depression as it entered the southern counties of Central Alabama. The depression produced sustained winds of 25-35 mph across Central Alabama along with heavy rainfall. The dura…
Flash Flood · Apr 14, 2018. An upper level trough moving across the Middle Mississippi River Valley Region took on a negative tilt and produced a QLCS that impacted the Central Gulf Coast States. The QLCS produced sporadic wind damage as it moved across Central Alabama. Precipitable water values were abnormally high and the slow moving system produced storm totals of 3-4 inches across areas west of I-65. Localized storms totals were near 6…
Flash Flood · Feb 3, 2016. A strong upper level system developed over the Central Plains and a surface low moved from the Mid Mississippi Valley into the Great Lakes. Although this was well removed from Central Alabama, the system was strong enough that winds at the surface and aloft increased significantly. This produced high wind shear. The combination of the high precipitable water values and unseasonably warm temperatures produced very…
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 Perry 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.