13 flood insurance claims·$167,999 paid·4 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 Grady 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 dominate the flood history of Grady County. Over the past 30 years, NOAA records show 14 tropical storm events, 9 flash flood events, 2 hurricane events, and 1 general flood event, resulting in a total of 2 deaths. Major regional impacts are illustrated by recent events, including the major flash flood event of April 2024 that brought heavy rainfall and rapid water rises across the region, and Hurricane Debby in August 2024, which brought heavy rainfall and widespread long-duration areal flooding.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that flood risks extend beyond designated high-risk areas. Properties located in moderate-to-low risk Zone X recorded 8 claims with an average payout of $15,781 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Meanwhile, properties in high-risk Zone A recorded 5 claims with a higher average payout of $24,438 and a significantly higher average recorded water depth of 64 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties in Zone A due to the severe water depths experienced during floods, as well as properties in Zone X where heavy rainfall from tropical systems can still produce damaging water accumulation.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 34 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 2 claims and $73,913 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Straight-line 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.
18 NOAA storm reports from Grady County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Georgia flood stories →
17 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 4 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, Flooding, Tornadoes, And Straight-line Winds | Mar 26, 2009 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 27, 2005 |
| Tropical Storm Frances | Sep 3, 2004 |
| Severe Storms/tornados | Feb 14, 2000 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
26 since 1996: 9 flash floods and 1 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm | Sep 26, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 11, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 5, 2024 | $500,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 30, 2023 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 11, 2022 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Nov 10, 2022 | $3,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 16, 2021 | $3,000 |
| Hurricane (Typhoon) | Oct 10, 2018 | $50.0M |
— = 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…
Flash Flood · Apr 11, 2024. A major flash flood event occurred across portions of the Florida big bend and southern Georgia during the late night hours of April 10th through the early morning hours of April 11th. Between 6 and 10 inches of rain fell with localized higher amounts, particularly over Tallahassee. This resulted in rapid water rises across Tallahassee with numerous cars and structures flooded. Several million dollars in flood…
Tropical Storm · Aug 5, 2024. Hurricane Debby made landfall along the Taylor County coast as a Category 1 Hurricane on the morning of Monday August 5th. In addition to storm surge flooding along the FL Big Bend coast, around 12 inches of rainfall lead to widespread flooding in Madison and Taylor counties. In particular, rainfall in Southeast Madison County corresponded to a 0.2% annual chance occurrence or a 500 year flood event. Long duration…
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…
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 Grady 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.