3 flood insurance claims·$3,101 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 Heard 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 Heard County. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 13 tropical storms, 7 flash flood events, 6 general floods, and 3 hurricanes.
Heavy rainfall from passing systems regularly creates localized hazards. For example, a persistent series of thunderstorms on February 12, 2024, brought 2.5 to 5 inches of rainfall to central Georgia, resulting in isolated flash flooding near the Alabama border. Later, on October 28, 2020, Tropical Storm Zeta swept across north Georgia, producing widespread wind damage and isolated flooding. FEMA National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that historical claims in the county are concentrated in Zone A, which accounts for 3 claims with an average payout of $1,034 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located within FEMA Zone A, where historical insurance claims have been filed with recorded water depths.
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 2 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.
9 NOAA storm reports from Heard County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Georgia flood stories →
19 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 4 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 Winter Storm | Feb 10, 2014 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Associated Flooding | Apr 27, 2011 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 18, 2009 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
29 since 1996: 7 flash floods and 6 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Feb 12, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 12, 2024 | $10,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 28, 2020 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 11, 2017 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 20, 2014 | $20,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 4, 2011 | — |
| Flood | Sep 21, 2009 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Sep 21, 2009 | $5,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Feb 12, 2024. A period of persistent thunderstorms moved through the area with an initial warm front early in the morning and later a weak cold front overnight. Weak instability resulted in mostly benign activity, aside from a single report of each hail and wind damage. Rainfall amounts of 2.5 to 5 inches stretched across central Georgia, with highest amounts along the Georgia-Alabama line, between LaGrange and Columbus. Isolat…
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.
Tropical Storm · Sep 11, 2017. On the morning of August 30th Tropical Storm Irma developed rapidly over the eastern Atlantic Ocean, just west of the Cape Verde Islands. Tropical Irma quickly strengthened as it moved west, reaching hurricane strength by the morning of August 31st. Hurricane Irma continued to move steadily westward across the Atlantic Ocean, intensifying to category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale as it approached the norther…
Flash Flood · Jul 20, 2014. An upper level trough continued to dominate the eastern portion of the country on the 20th, but with ridging beginning to build in aloft. A shortwave pushed across the Southeast late in the evening, sparking numerous showers and thunderstorms. Nearly stationary thunderstorms produced heavy rain over portions of Heard and Troup Counties. Rainfall amounts of 4 to 8 inches occurred primarily just southeast of Frankl…
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 Heard 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.