184 flood insurance claims·$4.6M paid·16 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, Florida. 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 summer thunderstorms and severe weather systems dominates the flood character of Washington County. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 67 flash flood events, alongside 21 general floods, 14 tropical storms, and 5 hurricanes resulting in 4 deaths.
Recent occurrences illustrate these risks. On May 11, 2025, a cold front with steep mid-level lapse rates and deep layer shear brought showers and thunderstorms that produced 3 to 9 inches of rainfall and flash flooding across portions of Bay and Washington counties. Later that year on September 26, 2024, Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in Taylor County, producing severe regional impacts associated with flash flooding.
NFIP claim data indicates that properties in both high-risk and moderate-to-low risk areas experience damage. Zone A accounts for the highest claim volume with 143 filings, averaging a payout of $18,960 and an average recorded water depth of 14 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X properties recorded 30 claims with a higher average payout of $98,780 and an average recorded water depth of 10 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents in both designated high-risk zones and supposedly lower-risk Zone X areas should pay close attention to these historical patterns.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Washington County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
143 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 12 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 1994, with 57 claims and $1.2M paid, the year of Tropical Storm Alberto and Severe Storms and Flooding (tropical Storm Alberto).
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.
73 NOAA storm reports from Washington County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Florida flood stories →
40 federal disaster declarations since 1975, 16 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 23, 2024 |
| Tropical Storm Helene | Sep 23, 2024 |
| Hurricane Debby | Aug 1, 2024 |
| Tropical Storm Debby | Aug 1, 2024 |
| Hurricane Nicole | Nov 7, 2022 |
| Hurricane Ian | Sep 23, 2022 |
| Tropical Storm Ian | Sep 23, 2022 |
| Tropical Storm Fred | Aug 13, 2021 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
107 since 1996: 67 flash floods and 21 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 11, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 26, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 26, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 18, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 17, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 13, 2024 | — |
| Flood | May 22, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 14, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 11, 2025. Steep mid level lapse rates along with sufficient instability and deep layer shear ahead of a cold front brought a couple of rounds of showers and thunderstorms to the region. Damaging wind gusts were reported across the Florida panhandle. In addition, a couple of tornadoes were reported in Walton county and Holmes county. Flash flooding also occurred in portions of Bay and Washington counties. Rainfall amounts of…
Flash Flood · Sep 26, 2024. Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph and a minimum central pressure of 938 mb (27.70 inches) at about 11:10 PM EDT on Thursday, September 26th, in Taylor County Florida just east of the Aucilla River. Helene quickly moved inland across Taylor and Madison Counties before moving into Lowndes County in South Central Georgia. The hurricane produced a devastat…
Tropical Storm · Sep 26, 2024. Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph and a minimum central pressure of 938 mb (27.70 inches) at about 11:10 PM EDT on Thursday, September 26th, in Taylor County Florida just east of the Aucilla River. Helene quickly moved inland across Taylor and Madison Counties before moving into Lowndes County in South Central Georgia. The hurricane produced a devastat…
Flash Flood · May 18, 2024. During the early morning hours of May 17th, a long lived derecho that impacted the north central Gulf coast clipped portions of Gulf and Franklin counties with significant wind gusts in excess of hurricane force measured, along with impacts to trees and power lines and minor structural damage. Later in the day and on May 18th, additional rounds of severe storms impacted the tri-state area with damage to trees and…
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.