183 flood insurance claims·$4.9M 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 Bulloch 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 and tropical systems dominate the flood character of Bulloch County, with NOAA records showing 20 flash flood events and 7 tropical storm events over the last 30 years, alongside lesser numbers of floods, tropical depressions, and hurricanes resulting in two tropical storm deaths. Recent severe impacts include Tropical Storm Helene in September 2024 and heavy rainfall totals of 8 to 12 inches during a flash flood event in November 2024, as well as the effects of Tropical Storm Debby in August 2024.
NFIP insurance claim data demonstrates that flood risk extends across multiple zones, with the highest concentration of claims occurring in higher-risk areas. Zone A accounts for 141 claims with an average payout of $36,751 and an average recorded water depth of 11 inches. Meanwhile, various designations of Zone X account for a combined 40 claims, with average payouts ranging from $11,864 to $36,361 and average recorded water depths between 1 and 12 inches. Zone V recorded 2 claims with an average payout of $1,943 and an average water depth of 3 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located in Zone A, which carries the heaviest historical claim volume, as well as properties in Zone X designations where significant average water depths and payouts have still been recorded.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
8% of Bulloch County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
155 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 11 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 75 claims and $3.5M 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.
18 NOAA storm reports from Bulloch County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Georgia flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 24, 2024 |
| Hurricane Debby | Aug 4, 2024 |
| Tropical Storm Debby | Aug 4, 2024 |
| Hurricane Idalia | Aug 30, 2023 |
| Hurricane Michael | Oct 9, 2018 |
| Hurricane Irma | Sep 7, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jan 21, 2017 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
33 since 1996: 20 flash floods and 2 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm | Sep 26, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Nov 7, 2024 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Nov 7, 2024 | $25,000 |
| Flood | Aug 7, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 30, 2023 | $55,000 |
| Tropical Depression | Sep 29, 2022 | — |
| Tropical Depression | Sep 11, 2017 | $900,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 29, 2016 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
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…
Flash Flood · Nov 7, 2024. The combination of an impressive tropical airmass (precipitable water values of 2.00-2.50 inches) and deep forcing for ascent produced a large area of very heavy rainfall across southeast Georgia. Rain began in the evening hour and continued through the morning with periods of intense rainfall within thunderstorms. Rainfall totals from the event ranged as high as 8-12 inches, with the greatest amounts impacting in…
Flood · Aug 7, 2024. Debby first developed into a tropical storm about 100 miles west-southwest of Key West, Florida late afternoon on August 3rd, then gradually strengthened to a strong tropical storm while tracking north across the eastern Gulf of Mexico on August 4th. Debby then reached hurricane force strength late on August 4th about 100 miles west-northwest of Tampa, before continuing a north-northeast track across the eastern G…
Flash Flood · Aug 30, 2023. Idalia first developed into a tropical depression across the western Caribbean Sea near the Yucatan Peninsula on August 26th before slowly gaining strength and becoming a tropical storm on August 27th. The storm then began to take a northward track the next day, passing the western tip of Cuba while gaining strength. On August 29th, Idalia was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane early in the morning, then intensifi…
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 Bulloch 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.