64 flood insurance claims·$1.3M 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 Colquitt 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 floods and tropical systems dominate the flood history of Colquitt County, supported by NOAA records detailing 14 flash flood events, 12 tropical storm events with one death, 3 general floods, and 2 hurricane events resulting in one death. Major impacts are linked to landfalling tropical systems, such as Hurricane Debby in August 2024 and Hurricane Helene in September 2024, which brought severe wind and heavy rainfall inland across the region.
Federal Emergency Management Agency flood insurance claims data shows impacts across multiple zones with varying severity. Zone A accounts for 37 claims with an average payout of $15,661 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Zone X includes 20 claims averaging $14,961 with an average recorded water depth of 23 inches. Unshaded Zone X accounts for 7 claims with an average payout of $84,969 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located in Zone A due to the high volume of historical claims, as well as properties in Zone X where claims recorded higher average water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
16% of Colquitt County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
44 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 10 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 2005, with 15 claims and $211,018 paid, the year of Hurricane Katrina Evacuation.
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.
19 NOAA storm reports from Colquitt County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Georgia flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 5 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 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 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, And Straight-line Winds | Mar 26, 2009 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
31 since 1996: 14 flash floods and 3 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 31, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 27, 2024 | — |
| Hurricane (Typhoon) | Sep 26, 2024 | $5.0M · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | Sep 25, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 17, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 5, 2024 | $200,000 · 1 killed |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 30, 2023 | $500,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 18, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 31, 2024. Scattered thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours in a typical summertime environment. A few trees were blown down, and localized flash flooding occurred with slow storm motions.
Flash Flood · Sep 27, 2024. Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph and a minimum central pressure of 938 mb (27.70 inches) at about 11:10 PM EDT on Thursday, September 26th, in Taylor County Florida just east of the Aucilla River. Helene quickly moved inland across Taylor and Madison Counties before moving into Lowndes County in South Central Georgia. The hurricane produced a devastat…
Hurricane (Typhoon) · Sep 26, 2024. Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph and a minimum central pressure of 938 mb (27.70 inches) at about 11:10 PM EDT on Thursday, September 26th, in Taylor County Florida just east of the Aucilla River. Helene quickly moved inland across Taylor and Madison Counties before moving into Lowndes County in South Central Georgia. The hurricane produced a devastat…
Flash Flood · Sep 25, 2024. Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph and a minimum central pressure of 938 mb (27.70 inches) at about 11:10 PM EDT on Thursday, September 26th, in Taylor County Florida just east of the Aucilla River. Helene quickly moved inland across Taylor and Madison Counties before moving into Lowndes County in South Central Georgia. The hurricane produced a devastat…
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 Colquitt 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.