1,998 flood insurance claims·$29.2M paid·3 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 DeKalb 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 tropical systems dominates the flood character of DeKalb County, Georgia, backed by NOAA Storm Events Database records of 55 flash flood events, 20 tropical storm events, 11 flood events, and 3 hurricane events over the last 30 years. Recent impacts include Tropical Storm Helene in September 2024, which brought widespread rainfall totals between 6 and 14 inches to the Atlanta Metropolitan area due to prolonged heavy rain following a Category 4 landfall in Florida.
FEMA National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood risks affect properties across multiple zones. Zone A has accumulated the highest volume with 1,169 claims, an average payout of $22,485, and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Zone X accounts for 497 claims with an average payout of $20,754 and an average recorded water depth of 13 inches. Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 154 claims averaging a $10,646 payout and an average water depth of 3 inches, while Zone X_SHADED recorded 89 claims averaging a $15,379 payout and an average water depth of 5 inches. Properties with unknown zones recorded 76 claims with an average payout of $6,520 and an average water depth of 2 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in Zone A, which has the highest concentration of historical claims, as well as properties in Zone X where average recorded water depths reach up to 13 inches during flood events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
17% of DeKalb County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
1,413 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 9 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 468 claims and $12.1M 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.
45 NOAA storm reports from DeKalb County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Georgia flood stories →
17 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 3 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 |
| Severe Storms And Tornadoes | Mar 14, 2008 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 27, 2005 |
| Hurricane Ivan | Sep 14, 2004 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
89 since 1996: 55 flash floods and 11 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm | Sep 27, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 27, 2024 | $12,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 26, 2024 | $10,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 26, 2024 | $20,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 26, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 26, 2024 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 28, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 21, 2023 | — |
— = 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…
Tropical Storm · Sep 26, 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 · Aug 28, 2023. Thunderstorms formed along a stationary boundary located draped across west-central and northwest GA on the 28th and 29th. Significant tropical moisture ahead of Hurricane Idalia led to several thunderstorms becoming strong to severe. The main hazards included damaging winds and torrential rainfall.
Flash Flood · Jul 21, 2023. Strong to severe thunderstorms moved across much of north and central GA during the afternoon and evening hours of July 21st. Numerous reports of damaging winds, along with significant flash flooding (around downtown Atlanta) occurred along the I-20 corridor. Another area impacted by damaging winds occurred from Stewart County (far SE part of the FFC forecast area) to near Swainsboro in Emanuel County.
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 DeKalb 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.