204 flood insurance claims·$4.8M 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 Decatur 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 drive the primary flood risks in Decatur County, shaped by 13 tropical storm events, 10 flash floods, 6 general floods, and 2 hurricanes recorded over the last 30 years. Recent impacts include Hurricane Idalia in August 2023 and Hurricane Helene, which brought severe wind and rain when it made landfall as a Category 4 storm in September 2024. Heavy rain from summer thunderstorms also produces localized flash flooding, as observed in August 2022.
National Flood Insurance Program records show 150 claims in high-risk Zone A with an average water depth of 11 inches and an average payout of $28,803. Additionally, Zone X properties experienced 49 claims averaging 8 inches of recorded water depth and $29,009 per payout, while 5 claims in unknown zones averaged 2 inches of water depth and $7,490.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in Zone A due to the higher frequency of claims and greater average water depths, as well as properties in Zone X that remain vulnerable to severe rainfall and tropical storm impacts.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Decatur County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
150 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 1994, with 101 claims and $2.9M paid, the year of Heavy Rains, Tornados, Flooding, High Winds.
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.
21 NOAA storm reports from Decatur County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Georgia flood stories →
19 federal disaster declarations since 1966, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 24, 2024 |
| Hurricane Debby | Aug 4, 2024 |
| Hurricane Michael | Oct 9, 2018 |
| Hurricane Irma | Sep 7, 2017 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Dec 22, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, And Straight-line Winds | Mar 26, 2009 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 27, 2005 |
| Tropical Storm Frances | Sep 3, 2004 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
31 since 1996: 10 flash floods and 6 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm | Sep 26, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 30, 2023 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Nov 10, 2022 | $3,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 3, 2022 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 16, 2021 | $3,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 11, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 16, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Tropical Storm · 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…
Tropical Storm · Aug 30, 2023. Hurricane Idalia made landfall on the morning of August 30th along the coast of Taylor County Florida near Keaton Beach at approximately 745 am EDT. The hurricane made landfall with estimated sustained winds of 125 mph, making it a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, the first major hurricane on record to make landfall in this portion of Florida. Hurricane Idalia moved inland across th…
Tropical Storm · Nov 10, 2022. Tropical Storm Nicole moved across the Florida Peninsula and turned northwestward, moving across the Florida Big Bend into southern Georgia. Wind and rain impacts were relatively minimal. No flooding was reported, and wind damage consisted mainly of a few trees down with sporadic power outages.
Flash Flood · Aug 8, 2022. A typical summertime pattern prevailed with scattered afternoon thunderstorms across the tri-state region. A few storms produced damaging wind gusts with impacts to trees and power lines along with heavy rain which resulted in localized flooding.
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 Decatur 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.