10 flood insurance claims·$97,523 paid·3 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 Jones 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.
Jones County experiences a flood risk profile dominated by tropical storms and flash flooding. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records document 15 tropical storms, 10 flash flood events, 7 floods, and 2 hurricanes.
Recent events illustrate these hazards. In September 2024, Tropical Storm Helene brought widespread heavy rainfall between 6 and 14 inches and wind gusts between 50 and 100 mph as it moved inland. Earlier, in March 2023, extreme rainfall from a prolonged active weather pattern caused flash flooding with a swath of 4 or more inches of rain and isolated amounts above 10 inches. Additional flash flooding occurred in October 2021, when heavy rainfall produced amounts of 1.5 to 3 inches with pockets between 4 and 8 inches along a line through Gray.
National Flood Insurance Program records reflect claims across different zones. Zone X recorded 5 claims with an average payout of $37,430 and an average recorded water depth of 50 inches. Zone A recorded 4 claims with an average payout of $7,554 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Zone V recorded 1 claim with an average payout of $0 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches. Homeowners in Zone X and Zone A should pay the closest attention to these flood risks.
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 2023, with 2 claims and $58,769 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.
12 NOAA storm reports from Jones County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Georgia flood stories →
17 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 3 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 24, 2024 |
| Hurricane Michael | Oct 9, 2018 |
| Hurricane Irma | Sep 7, 2017 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 10, 2014 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 27, 2005 |
| Tropical Storm Frances | Sep 3, 2004 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2000 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
34 since 1996: 10 flash floods and 7 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm | Sep 27, 2024 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Mar 27, 2023 | $150,000 |
| Flash Flood | Oct 6, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 6, 2021 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Oct 6, 2021 | $15,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 28, 2020 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 10, 2018 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 11, 2017 | $75,000 |
— = 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 · Mar 27, 2023. A prolonged, active weather pattern persisted across Georgia through late March, culminating in a series of disturbances that impacted the region March 25th through March 28th. In addition to numerous reports of damaging winds, hail and a few tornadoes, extreme rainfall amounts caused flash flooding over portions of the state. A swath of 4 or more inches of rain stretched from LaGrange, to Forsyth, to Augusta, wit…
Flash Flood · Oct 6, 2021. A very moist and marginally unstable airmass ahead of a deep upper-level low over the lower Mississippi Valley resulted one report of a tree down and several flash flooding reports over middle Georgia. Heavy rainfall amounts of 1.5 to 3 inches were observed along a line from Thomaston to Gray to Eatonton to Comer, with pockets of higher amounts between 4 and 8 inches.
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 Jones 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.