50 flood insurance claims·$906,851 paid·2 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 Bartow County, Georgia. 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 thunderstorms dominates the flood history of Bartow County, supported by 36 flash flood events alongside 15 tropical storm and 12 general flood events recorded over the last 30 years.
Recent impacts are documented in NOAA storm narratives, including torrential rainfall and flooding associated with Hurricane Idalia in August 2023, and widespread heavy rainfall from the remnants of Hurricane Helene in September 2024. Earlier, a moist and unstable airmass produced widespread flooding with rainfall totals of 6 to 8 inches in March 2021.
FEMA National Flood Insurance Program records show
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Bartow County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
23 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 16 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 2025, with 10 claims and $287,170 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.
33 NOAA storm reports from Bartow County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Georgia flood stories →
19 federal disaster declarations since 1974, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 24, 2024 |
| Hurricane Irma | Sep 7, 2017 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 10, 2014 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Associated Flooding | Apr 27, 2011 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 18, 2009 |
| Severe Storms And Tornadoes | Mar 14, 2008 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 27, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
66 since 1996: 36 flash floods and 12 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm | Sep 27, 2024 | $1,000 |
| Flood | Aug 28, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 25, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 25, 2021 | $15,000 |
| Flash Flood | Mar 25, 2021 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 4, 2021 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 28, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Apr 13, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Tropical Storm · Sep 27, 2024. Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in the Big Bend region of Florida at 11 PM EDT. Helene moved quickly inland bringing wind gusts between 50 and 100 mph to portions of east and central Georgia. Widespread rainfall totals between 6 and 14 inches were observed in association with Helene across north and central Georgia. The highest rainfall amounts were primarily observed in portions of east-c…
Flood · Aug 28, 2023. Thunderstorms formed along a stationary boundary located draped across west-central and northwest GA on the 28th and 29th. Significant tropical moisture ahead of Hurricane Idalia led to several thunderstorms becoming strong to severe. The main hazards included damaging winds and torrential rainfall.
Flash Flood · Mar 25, 2021. A very moist and moderately unstable airmass over the region combined with strong shear and persistent southwesterly mid and upper flow produced numerous showers and thunderstorms across north and parts of central Georgia through the day on the 25th into the morning of the 26th. Numerous reports of flooding were received with several reports of severe thunderstorms and a few isolated tornadoes. Rainfall amounts of…
Flash Flood · May 4, 2021. A series of upper-level short waves moved across the region in persistent, southwesterly upper-level flow combined with moderate instability and shear to produce several rounds of strong to severe thunderstorms across north and central Georgia. Some of these storms dumped 2 to 4 inches of rain over the area, resulting in isolated flash flooding.
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 Bartow 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.