44 flood insurance claims·$1.8M paid·2 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 Gordon 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 summer thunderstorms and tropical systems dominates the flood risk profile in Gordon County, GA, based on 30 flash flood events and 14 tropical storm events recorded over the last 30 years alongside multiple general flood and hurricane events.
Recent notable events include Hurricane Helene in September 2024, which brought widespread heavy rainfall to the region, and a slow-moving thunderstorm system in August 2020 that produced 2.5 to 5 inches of rain and localized flash flooding. Additional significant flash flooding occurred in March 2021 from persistent storms dropping common rainfall amounts of 2.5 to 6 inches, and in August 2023 when tropical moisture ahead of Hurricane Idalia caused torrential rainfall.
NFIP historical claims show that properties in both mapped flood areas and standard zones face risk, with Zone A recording 26 claims averaging $26,441 with an average recorded water depth of 9 inches, and Zone X recording 18 claims averaging $81,190 with an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in both high-risk Zone A and moderate-to-low risk Zone X, where historical claims demonstrate that significant flood damage occurs across both designations.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Gordon County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
26 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 8 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 2023, with 6 claims and $1.0M paid.
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.
16 NOAA storm reports from Gordon County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Georgia flood stories →
18 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 2 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 |
| Hurricane Irma | Sep 7, 2017 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 10, 2014 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Associated Flooding | Apr 27, 2011 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 27, 2005 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2000 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
53 since 1996: 30 flash floods and 6 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm | Sep 27, 2024 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 29, 2023 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Mar 25, 2021 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 28, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 20, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 18, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jan 22, 2017 | $15,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jan 22, 2017 | — |
— = 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…
Flash Flood · Aug 29, 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 · Mar 25, 2021. A very moist and moderately unstable airmass over the region combined with strong shear and persistent southwesterly mid and upper flow produced numerous showers and thunderstorms across north and parts of central Georgia through the day on the 25th into the morning of the 26th. Numerous reports of flooding were received with several reports of severe thunderstorms and a few isolated tornadoes. Rainfall amounts of…
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.
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 Gordon 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.