487 flood insurance claims·$10.3M 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 Gwinnett 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 history of Gwinnett County. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records show 31 flash flood events resulting in 1 death, alongside 14 tropical storm events causing 2 deaths, 14 general flood events, and 3 hurricane events. Recent severe impacts include Tropical Storm Helene in September 2024, which brought widespread rainfall totals between 6 and 14 inches to north and central Georgia alongside wind gusts of 50 to 100 mph. Additionally, stationary boundaries and tropical moisture from Hurricane Idalia produced torrential rainfall and flash flooding in August 2023.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that flood risks extend beyond high-risk areas. Zone A accounts for 239 claims with an average payout of $31,165 and an average recorded water depth of 11 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X properties recorded 209 claims with an average payout of $24,213 and an average water depth of 12 inches, and unshaded Zone X areas recorded 30 claims with an average payout of $45,463 and an average water depth of 13 inches. Shaded Zone X properties recorded 2 claims averaging a $34,972 payout and an average water depth of 1 inch, while unknown zones recorded 7 claims averaging a $394 payout and an average water depth of 2 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents in both designated high-risk zones and moderate-to-low risk Zone X areas should pay close attention to these historical payout and water depth averages when evaluating property risk.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
12% of Gwinnett County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
271 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 11 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 213 claims and $7.2M 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.
27 NOAA storm reports from Gwinnett County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Georgia flood stories →
14 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 2 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 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 27, 2005 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2000 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Feb 14, 1998 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
62 since 1996: 31 flash floods and 14 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm | Sep 26, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 29, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 29, 2023 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 29, 2023 | $30,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 29, 2023 | $40,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 17, 2021 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 28, 2020 | — · 2 killed |
| Flash Flood | Jul 13, 2018 | — |
— = 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 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 · Aug 17, 2021. The remains of Tropical Storm Fred moved across central and north Georgia as a tropical depression during the overnight hours through the morning producing isolated reports of damaging winds in convective bands and several tornadoes. No reports of wind damage were received outside of the stronger convective bands. Rainfall amounts exceeded 4 inches in portions of northeast Georgia, with amounts of 6 to 8 inches ob…
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 Gwinnett 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.