73 flood insurance claims·$5.6M 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 Cherokee 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 weather events and heavy rainfall systems dominates the flood profile of Cherokee County. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 18 flash flood events, 13 tropical storm events resulting in one death, 12 general flood events, and 3 hurricane events.
Specific recorded events illustrate these hazards. On January 4, 2015, a strong surface low and deep upper-level trough produced heavy rain and flash flooding. Later, on October 28, 2020, Tropical Storm Zeta swept across north Georgia, causing widespread wind damage and isolated flooding.
NFIP claim records highlight distinct risk levels between FEMA zones. Properties in Zone X accounted for 48 claims with an average payout of $18,657 and an average recorded water depth of 13 inches. Properties in Zone A recorded 25 claims with a significantly higher average payout of $254,698 and an average recorded water depth of 15 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents with properties in designated Special Flood Hazard Areas like Zone A should pay the closest attention to these risks due to the severity of potential payouts and water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Cherokee County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
25 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 13 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 2009, with 39 claims and $5.3M paid, the year of Severe Storms and 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.
14 NOAA storm reports from Cherokee County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Georgia flood stories →
19 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 24, 2024 |
| Tropical Storm Zeta | Oct 29, 2020 |
| 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 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 27, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
46 since 1996: 18 flash floods and 12 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm | Oct 28, 2020 | — · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | Feb 6, 2020 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 11, 2017 | $150,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jan 4, 2015 | $3,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 7, 2013 | $60,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 4, 2011 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 20, 2010 | $15,000 |
| Flood | Sep 21, 2009 | $8.5M |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Tropical Storm · Oct 28, 2020. During the late evening of October 28th through the morning of October 29th, Tropical Storm Zeta swept rapidly across north Georgia producing widespread wind damage and isolated flooding across north and portions of central Georgia. Around 1.5 million customers lost electricity for some period of time, some for several days.
Flash Flood · Feb 6, 2020. A line of thunderstorms ahead of a strong cold front moved into northwest Georgia in the pre-dawn hours and swept across north and central Georgia through the morning into the afternoon producing numerous reports of damaging thunderstorm winds and an isolated tornado. Storms along the front also produced heavy rainfall, ranging from 1.5 to 4 inches, with higher amounts up to 6 inches, particularly over north Georg…
Tropical Storm · Sep 11, 2017. On the morning of August 30th Tropical Storm Irma developed rapidly over the eastern Atlantic Ocean, just west of the Cape Verde Islands. Tropical Irma quickly strengthened as it moved west, reaching hurricane strength by the morning of August 31st. Hurricane Irma continued to move steadily westward across the Atlantic Ocean, intensifying to category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale as it approached the norther…
Flash Flood · Jan 4, 2015. A strong surface low associated with a deep upper-level trough lifted out of the lower Mississippi Valley and swept across the southern Appalachians the evening of January 3rd through the morning of January 4th producing heavy rain and flash flooding, severe thunderstorms and isolated tornadoes.
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 Cherokee 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.