199 flood insurance claims·$5.2M paid·6 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 Gilmer 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 slow-moving thunderstorms and heavy rainfall systems dominates the flood history of Gilmer County. Over a 30-year period recorded by the NOAA Storm Events Database, the county experienced 29 flash flood events, alongside 13 tropical storm events, 3 hurricane events, and 2 standard flood events.
Specific recent events illustrate these risks. On March 31, 2021, strong thunderstorms ahead of a cold front dropped 2 to 3.5 inches of rain, with locally higher amounts, causing numerous reports of flooding across north Georgia. Earlier, on August 20, 2020, slow-moving and training storms driven by a moist air mass and stationary frontal boundary produced 2.5 to 5 inches of rain in localized areas, resulting in evening flash flooding. Additionally, Tropical Storm Zeta swept across the region from October 28 to October 29, 2020, producing widespread wind damage and isolated flooding.
FEMA National Flood Insurance Program records highlight distinct property impacts across different zones. Zone A accounts for 141 claims with an average payout of $32,086 and an average recorded water depth of 16 inches. Zone X accounts for 55 claims with an average payout of $39,977 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Zone UNKNOWN accounts for 3 claims with an average payout of $13,692 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches. Property owners in designated flood hazard zones, particularly Zone A, should pay the closest attention to these risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Gilmer County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
141 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 2004, with 62 claims and $2.6M paid, the year of Hurricane Ivan.
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 Gilmer County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Georgia flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1974, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 24, 2024 |
| Severe Storms And Tornadoes | Mar 25, 2021 |
| Tropical Storm Zeta | Oct 29, 2020 |
| Hurricane Irma | Sep 7, 2017 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Dec 22, 2015 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 10, 2014 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 27, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
47 since 1996: 29 flash floods and 2 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Mar 31, 2021 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 28, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 20, 2020 | $12,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 20, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 21, 2018 | $10,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 11, 2017 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Dec 24, 2015 | $1.1M |
| Flash Flood | Dec 24, 2015 | $300,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Mar 31, 2021. Strong thunderstorms ahead of a cold front produced numerous reports of flooding across portions of north Georgia and scattered reports of damaging winds across parts of north and central Georgia. Rainfall was highest over far northwest Georgia where totals ranged from 2 to 3.5 inches with locally higher amounts.
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 · Aug 20, 2020. A deepening upper-level trough along with a moist and moderately unstable air mass resulted in scattered strong to severe thunderstorms each afternoon and evening, mainly along a stationary frontal boundary across north Georgia. Slow-moving and training storms produced 2.5 to 5 inches of rain in localized areas, producing flash flooding during the evening of August 20th.
Flash Flood · Jul 21, 2018. A series of short waves moving through an unseasonably strong northwesterly upper-level flow pattern brought several rounds of strong to severe thunderstorms across north and central Georgia. The first round swept through in the early morning hours producing large swathes of wind damage and a few reports of small to moderate size hail. Heavy rainfall also produced isolated flash flooding in portions of north Georgia.
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 Gilmer 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.