2,031 flood insurance claims·$66.3M 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 Cobb 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 summer thunderstorms dominates the flood risk profile in Cobb County, supported by 38 flash flood events, 15 general floods, 14 tropical storms, and 3 hurricanes recorded over the last 30 years in the NOAA Storm Events Database.
Recent historic impacts include Tropical Storm Helene in September 2024, which brought widespread rainfall totals between 6 and 14 inches to north and central Georgia. Additionally, training storms along a stationary front triggered flash flooding in September 2021, and a strong cold front dropped 1.5 to 6 inches of rain resulting in flash flooding in February 2020.
NFIP claim data demonstrates that flood risk extends beyond designated high-risk areas. While Zone A accounts for 1,254 claims with an average payout of $44,772 and an average recorded water depth of 14 inches, Zone X properties have also experienced significant impacts, logging 610 claims with an average payout of $45,680 and an average recorded water depth of 16 inches. Homeowners in Zone A, Zone X, and unshaded or shaded Zone X variations should pay close attention to their property's specific flood risk and historical water depth averages.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
10% of Cobb County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
1,388 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 2009, with 723 claims and $44.5M 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.
29 NOAA storm reports from Cobb County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Georgia flood stories →
19 federal disaster declarations since 1966, 4 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 And Flooding | Sep 18, 2009 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 27, 2005 |
| Hurricane Ivan | Sep 14, 2004 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2000 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
70 since 1996: 38 flash floods and 15 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm | Sep 27, 2024 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 7, 2021 | $1.9M |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 28, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 6, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Nov 12, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 20, 2017 | $3,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 11, 2017 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 5, 2017 | — |
— = 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…
Flash Flood · Sep 7, 2021. Thunderstorms developing along a stationary front across north Georgia produced isolated reports of wind damage in a portion of the metro Atlanta area. This front also triggered training storms that quickly dumped several inches of rain over the two-county area. Flash flooding occurred late in the evening on September 7th and continued into the early morning hours on September 8th. Afternoon showers and thunderst…
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…
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 Cobb 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.