21 flood insurance claims·$124,097 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 Wilcox 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 slow-moving thunderstorms and tropical systems dominates the flood risks in Wilcox County. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 12 flash flood events, 5 tropical storms, and 2 hurricanes. Slow-moving weather patterns can produce heavy rainfall and training thunderstorms, as demonstrated in March 2021 when clusters of storms stalled over southwest Alabama to produce heavy rain and flooding. Similarly, the slow movement of Hurricane Sally in September 2020 prolonged freshwater flooding impacts as the storm extended well inland into southwest and south-central Alabama, following earlier heavy rainfall events such as the stalled front in October 2021 that dropped 4 to 12 inches of rain across the region.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that losses occur across multiple zones. Zone X accounts for 10 claims with an average payout of $8,029 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Zone A accounts for 9 claims with an average payout of $15,192 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Zone V accounts for 2 claims with an average payout of $830 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists tracking property risk in Wilcox County should pay the most attention to properties in Zone A, which recorded the highest average claim payouts and water depths, while also accounting for recurring flash flood threats from severe weather and tropical 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 2 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 1990, with 11 claims and $39,382 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding.
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.
6 NOAA storm reports from Wilcox County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Alabama flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 22, 2024 |
| 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, 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.
19 since 1996: 12 flash floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Mar 16, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 4, 2021 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 28, 2020 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 15, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 14, 2018 | $100,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 7, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 4, 2012 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 10, 2006 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Mar 16, 2021. Clusters of showers and thunderstorms stalled over portions of southwest Alabama and trained over the same areas producing very heavy rain and flooding. The thunderstorms also produced strong winds which caused damage in southwest Alabama.
Flash Flood · Oct 4, 2021. The combination of a stalled front and very slow moving upper level low combined with very deep Gulf moisture to generate rounds of showers and thunderstorms. Rainfall amounts of 4 to 12 inches fell across the area and led to numerous reports of flooding. Significant flash flooding was reported in parts of Escambia County AL, particularly from Brewton east to the Damascus area. The Murder Creek in Brewton crested…
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…
Tropical Storm · Sep 15, 2020. Hurricane Sally made landfall in Gulf Shores, AL at 5am on Wednesday, September 16th as a strong Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph. Sally produced widespread wind, storm surge, and freshwater flooding across coastal AL and the western Florida Panhandle. Flood and wind damage also extended well inland into inland southwest Alabama and south central Alabama. Sally was an extremely slow mov…
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 Wilcox 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.