6 flood insurance claims·$57,533 paid·4 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 Tallapoosa 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 and tropical systems dominate the recorded flood events in Tallapoosa County, with NOAA records showing 16 flash flood events and 4 tropical storms over the last 30 years alongside standard floods and tropical depressions. Severe weather brought multi-day heavy rainfall and flash flooding in March 2023, while tropical systems such as Tropical Storm Zeta in October 2020 and Tropical Storm Irma in September 2017 have also impacted the region with steady rains and gusty winds.
Federal insurance data reflects flood claims across different zones. Properties in Zone A experienced higher severity with 2 claims averaging a $24,593 payout and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Properties in Zone X accounted for 4 claims with an average payout of $8,347 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches.
Homeowners and real estate professionals should pay the most attention to properties located within Zone A, where claims indicate higher financial loss and recorded water depths during flooding events.
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 1 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 2015, with 1 claims and $27,954 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.
8 NOAA storm reports from Tallapoosa County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Alabama flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 4 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, And Tornadoes | Apr 19, 2020 |
| 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.
25 since 1996: 16 flash floods and 3 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Mar 27, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 19, 2021 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 29, 2020 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 11, 2017 | — |
| Flood | Apr 7, 2014 | — |
| Flood | Dec 22, 2013 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 20, 2011 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 3, 2010 | $100,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Mar 27, 2023. A multi-day severe weather event produced all modes of severe weather across Central Alabama. An upper low parked over the Midwest States and an upper ridge over the Florida Peninsula produced a deep layer of moisture and shear over Alabama. A slow moving surface cold front provided the focus for severe storms late Saturday night and continuing through Monday morning.
Flash Flood · Sep 19, 2021. A tropical air mass covered Alabama on September 18-19 with precipitable water values over 2 inches. An nearly stationary upper low near the Texas and Louisiana state line provided lift and instability for showers and thunderstorms across the Central Gulf States. An inverted surface trough was located along the I-20 corridor on September 18th, and provided a focus for slow moving thunderstorms that produced flash…
Tropical Storm · Oct 29, 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…
Tropical Storm · Sep 11, 2017. Hurricane Irma made landfall on the west coast of the Florida peninsula on September 10th. The hurricane tracked northward across Florida and weakened into a tropical storm on September 11th as it moved into southwest Georgia Tropical Storm Warnings were in effect for east central Alabama as Tropical Storm Irma approached east Alabama. Steady rains overspread the region by early morning, with breezy and gusty win…
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 Tallapoosa 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.