77 flood insurance claims·$1.1M 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 Effingham 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.
Effingham County faces flood risks driven primarily by tropical systems and heavy summer rainfall, with NOAA records showing 8 tropical storm, 6 flash flood, and 5 flood events over the last 30 years. Recent impacts include flash flooding from slow-moving cold fronts in August 2025, as well as significant severe weather brought inland by Tropical Storm Debby in August 2024 and Hurricane Helene in September 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records highlight distinct vulnerability patterns across different zones. Properties in Zone A account for 46 claims with an average payout of $24,043 and an average recorded water depth of 13 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X account for 31 claims with an average payout of $13,678 and a higher average recorded water depth of 22 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located in both designated high-risk Special Flood Hazard Areas (Zone A) and moderate-to-low risk areas (Zone X), as both zones have experienced measurable flood claims and significant water depths during severe weather events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Effingham County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
46 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 17 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 2024, with 32 claims and $802,146 paid, the year of Hurricane Debby and Hurricane Helene.
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.
9 NOAA storm reports from Effingham County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Georgia flood stories →
17 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 3 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 Dorian | Aug 29, 2019 |
| Hurricane Michael | Oct 9, 2018 |
| Hurricane Irma | Sep 7, 2017 |
| Hurricane Matthew | Oct 4, 2016 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 27, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
22 since 1996: 6 flash floods and 5 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 22, 2025 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 26, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 6, 2024 | $100,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 6, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 30, 2023 | — |
| Tropical Depression | Jul 7, 2021 | — |
| Tropical Depression | Sep 4, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 22, 2025. A slow moving cold front encountering an environment displaying deep moisture and moderate instability supported thunderstorms capable of heavy rainfall across Southeast Georgia.
Tropical Storm · Sep 26, 2024. Helene first developed into a tropical storm in the northwest Caribbean Sea in the late morning of September 24, and strengthened into a hurricane near the Yucatan peninsula about 24 hours later. Helene continued to strengthen and became a major hurricane as it moved to the north-northeast across the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Helene made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida in the late evening hours of Septemb…
Flood · Aug 8, 2024. Debby first developed into a tropical storm about 100 miles west-southwest of Key West, Florida late afternoon on August 3rd, then gradually strengthened to a strong tropical storm while tracking north across the eastern Gulf of Mexico on August 4th. Debby then reached hurricane force strength late on August 4th about 100 miles west-northwest of Tampa, before continuing a north-northeast track across the eastern G…
Flash Flood · Aug 6, 2024. Debby first developed into a tropical storm about 100 miles west-southwest of Key West, Florida late afternoon on August 3rd, then gradually strengthened to a strong tropical storm while tracking north across the eastern Gulf of Mexico on August 4th. Debby then reached hurricane force strength late on August 4th about 100 miles west-northwest of Tampa, before continuing a north-northeast track across the eastern G…
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 Effingham 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.