116 flood insurance claims·$1.2M 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 Pickens 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 weather and tropical systems dominates the flood character of Pickens County, Alabama. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 14 flash flood events resulting in 2 deaths, alongside 6 general floods, 2 tropical storms, and 1 tropical depression. Significant events include a slow-moving frontal system in January 2015 that produced widespread rainfall totals of 2 to 4 inches, and the remnants of Hurricane Isaac in September 2012, which brought heavy rainfall and flash flooding to the region. Tropical Storm Lee also caused flash flooding in September 2011 when its outer rain bands skirted the southwest corner of the county.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that risk is concentrated primarily in designated high-risk areas. Zone A has experienced the highest impact with 101 claims, an average payout of $11,251, and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Properties located in Zone X recorded 4 claims with an average payout of $30,168 and an average water depth of 4 inches, while unshaded Zone X recorded 8 claims with an average payout of $12,583 and an average water depth of 1 inch. Zone D and Zone V each recorded a single claim with minimal or zero payouts.
Homeowners and real estate agents managing properties in Zone A and Zone X should pay the closest attention to flood preparedness, given the history of repeated flash flooding from heavy rainfall and tropical systems.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
8% of Pickens County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
111 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 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.
The worst year was 1991, with 27 claims and $168,714 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.
4 NOAA storm reports from Pickens County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Alabama flood stories →
19 federal disaster declarations since 1974, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 22, 2024 |
| Hurricane Sally | Sep 14, 2020 |
| Hurricane Irma | Sep 8, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 28, 2014 |
| Hurricane Isaac | Aug 26, 2012 |
| 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 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
23 since 1996: 14 flash floods and 6 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jan 3, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 3, 2012 | — |
| Flood | Sep 5, 2011 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 5, 2011 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 27, 2009 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 20, 2009 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jan 6, 2009 | $50,000 · 2 killed |
| Tropical Depression | Aug 23, 2008 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jan 3, 2015. A surface low tracked northeast across northern Mississippi and northwest Alabama Saturday afternoon and evening. An upper level disturbance moving out of the southwest United States providing ample lift and shear increased as the surface low deepened. The frontal system progressed slowly eastward, and this allowed for widespread rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches.
Flash Flood · Sep 3, 2012. The remnants of Hurricane Issac brought heavy rainfall and flash flooding to Central Alabama during the first week of September. Hurricane Issac made landfall along the southeastern Louisiana coast late Tuesday, August 28 and slowly tracked northwestward through Louisiana and Arkansas for several days before turning to the east. The remnant upper level trough associated with Issac crossed Alabama on Monday and Tue…
Flood · Sep 5, 2011. A tropical depression developed in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday, September 1 and strengthened as it remained nearly stationary becoming Tropical Storm Lee Friday afternoon, September 2. Tropical Storm Lee slowly moved northward toward the central Louisiana coast, eventually making landfall Sunday, September 4 near Vermillion Bay, LA, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 45 mph. Rain bands spread northward into…
Flash Flood · Sep 5, 2011. A tropical depression developed in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday, September 1 and strengthened as it remained nearly stationary becoming Tropical Storm Lee Friday afternoon, September 2. Tropical Storm Lee slowly moved northward toward the central Louisiana coast, eventually making landfall Sunday, September 4 near Vermillion Bay, LA, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 45 mph. Rain bands spread northward into…
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 Pickens 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.