285 flood insurance claims·$5.8M 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 Bryan 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.
Tropical storms and flash flooding from heavy rainfall dominate the flood risk profile in Bryan County, Georgia. NOAA records show significant weather impacts from events such as Tropical Storm Helene in September 2024, as well as multiple heavy rainfall and flash flood events driven by slow-moving cold fronts, stalled boundaries, and deep tropical moisture, including incidents in August 2025.
Federal flood insurance data highlights distinct risk patterns across different zones in the county. Zone A accounts for the highest volume of National Flood Insurance Program claims with 188 filings, averaging $26,821 per payout and an average recorded water depth of 11 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X properties experienced fewer total claims at 72, but recorded a higher average payout of $64,433 and an average water depth of 23 inches. Zone V recorded 10 claims with an average payout of $49,244 and an average water depth of 1 inch. Unshaded and shaded Zone X areas recorded minor claim volumes with lower average payouts and varying water depths.
Homeowners and real estate agents with properties located in high-risk coastal or surge-prone areas like Zone V, as well as those in Special Flood Hazard Areas designated as Zone A, should pay the closest attention to these risks. Additionally, properties situated in Zone X require careful evaluation due to the high severity of historical payouts and recorded water depths associated with severe storms.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
7% of Bryan County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
212 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 14 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 2024, with 81 claims and $2.9M paid, the year of Hurricane Debby and Hurricane Helene.
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 Bryan County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Georgia flood stories →
21 federal disaster declarations since 1966, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 24, 2024 |
| Hurricane Debby | Aug 4, 2024 |
| Tropical Storm Debby | Aug 4, 2024 |
| Hurricane Dorian | Aug 29, 2019 |
| Hurricane Michael | Oct 9, 2018 |
| Hurricane Irma | Sep 7, 2017 |
| Hurricane Matthew | Oct 4, 2016 |
| Harveytown Fire | May 31, 2007 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
36 since 1996: 15 flash floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 23, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 22, 2025 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 26, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 10, 2018 | — |
| Tropical Depression | Sep 11, 2017 | $450,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 11, 2017 | $450,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 7, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 26, 2013 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 23, 2025. Mid-level energy tracking across the region along with a deep moisture and modest instability residing near a stalled front led to an environment supportive of heavy rainfall across Southeast Georgia.
Flash Flood · Aug 22, 2025. A slow moving cold front encountering an environment displaying deep moisture and moderate instability supported thunderstorms capable of heavy rainfall across Southeast Georgia.
Tropical Storm · Sep 26, 2024. Helene first developed into a tropical storm in the northwest Caribbean Sea in the late morning of September 24, and strengthened into a hurricane near the Yucatan peninsula about 24 hours later. Helene continued to strengthen and became a major hurricane as it moved to the north-northeast across the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Helene made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida in the late evening hours of Septemb…
Tropical Storm · Oct 10, 2018. Michael first developed into a tropical depression early on October, 7th approximately 90 miles east of Chetumal, Mexico before gradually strengthening to a tropical storm by the afternoon while tracking north off the Yucatan Peninsula coast. Michael then continued to strengthen to a Category 1 hurricane while tracking north just off the western Cuba coast on October, 8th before gaining latitude and rapidly intens…
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 Bryan 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.