15 flood insurance claims·$114,716 paid·8 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 Washington 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 the flood history of Washington County, with 24 flash flood events recorded over the last 30 years compared to 4 tropical storms and 3 hurricanes.
Historical events illustrate these risks, such as in February 2022 when a moist and unstable airmass ahead of a cold front produced heavy rain and localized flooding. Additionally, Tropical Storm Zeta impacted the region in October 2020 after making landfall in Louisiana as a Category 2 hurricane and racing northeastward across inland southwest Alabama. National Flood Insurance Program records show claims spanning multiple zones, with Zone A recording 11 claims with an average payout of $9,068 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Zone V recorded 2 claims with an average payout of $36,300 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches.
Homeowners and real estate professionals should pay the most attention to properties located in Zone A and Zone V, as these areas account for the vast majority of historical insurance claims and face distinct risks from both heavy inland rainfall and coastal storm systems.
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.
The worst year was 2004, with 3 claims and $14,968 paid, the year of Hurricane Ivan.
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.
9 NOAA storm reports from Washington County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Alabama flood stories →
27 federal disaster declarations since 1975, 8 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 22, 2024 |
| Hurricane Zeta | Oct 28, 2020 |
| Hurricane Sally | Sep 14, 2020 |
| Hurricane Nate | Oct 6, 2017 |
| Hurricane Irma | Sep 8, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 28, 2014 |
| 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.
31 since 1996: 24 flash floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Feb 3, 2022 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 28, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jan 23, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Dec 28, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 14, 2018 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2017 | $15,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2017 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 22, 2017 | $460,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Feb 3, 2022. A very moist and unstable airmass developed ahead of an approaching cold front. Storms developed along the front and produced damaging wind gusts as they moved across southeast Mississippi and southwest Alabama. Heavy rain caused flooding across portions of the area.
Tropical Storm · Oct 28, 2020. Hurricane Zeta made landfall in southeast Louisiana during the late afternoon hours of Wednesday, October 28th as a strong category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph. Zeta quickly raced northeast and moved across inland southeast Mississippi and inland southwest Alabama during the evening hours. Shortly after midnight, Thursday, October 29th, Zeta weakened to a tropical storm while moving across…
Flash Flood · Jan 23, 2019. Heavy rains caused flooding across portions of southwest Alabama.
Flash Flood · Dec 28, 2018. Significant flash flooding unfolded across parts of southwest Alabama (Choctaw, Clarke Counties) where a swath of 5 to 10 inches of rain fell in a short period of time. The highest rainfall total that occurred in southwest Alabama was 10 inches near Aquilla, AL in Choctaw County. ||Numerous roads were closed or washed out across the aforementioned area due to the flash flooding. Floodwaters also inundated some hom…
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 Washington 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.