70 flood insurance claims·$1.5M 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 Rockdale 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 risk profile in Rockdale County, supported by NOAA records that include 13 tropical storms, 7 flash floods, 5 floods, and 3 hurricanes over the last 30 years. Heavy rainfall from slow-moving or passing systems regularly triggers localized inundation. For instance, remnants of Tropical Storm Marco produced 1.5 to 3 inches of rain with isolated amounts up to 5 inches, causing flash flooding in August 2020. Later that year, Tropical Storm Zeta swept across the region in October 2020, producing widespread wind damage and isolated flooding.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood risks extend beyond designated high-risk areas. Properties located in FEMA Zone X account for 34 claims with an average recorded water depth of 18 inches and an average payout of $23,961. Meanwhile, Zone A properties recorded 25 claims with an average water depth of 9 inches and an average payout of $47,577, and Zone X Shaded properties logged 11 claims with an average water depth of 18 inches and an average payout of $7,667.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in both traditional high-risk zones and moderate-to-low risk Zone X areas, where substantial water depths and insurance claims demonstrate significant vulnerability to tropical systems and heavy rainfall.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
31% of Rockdale County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
36 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 14 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 16 claims and $868,779 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.
8 NOAA storm reports from Rockdale County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Georgia flood stories →
16 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 |
| 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.
28 since 1996: 7 flash floods and 5 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm | Oct 28, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 25, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 19, 2019 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 11, 2017 | $150,000 |
| Flash Flood | Dec 30, 2015 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | Dec 24, 2015 | $50,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 4, 2011 | — |
| Flood | Sep 21, 2009 | $990,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
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.
Flash Flood · Aug 25, 2020. Remnants of Tropical Storm Marco moving through the region caused deep tropical moisture to remain over Georgia, producing moderate to heavy showers over the metro Atlanta area through the day. Rainfall amounts of 1.5 to 3 inches were common, with isolated higher amounts of 3 to 5 inches producing flash flooding in south metro Atlanta.
Flash Flood · Apr 19, 2019. Another in a series of deep upper-level troughs and its associated surface low and cold front moved through the region. Marginal instability but moderate to high shear and strong dynamics resulted in a line of strong thunderstorms, with isolated damaging winds and a few tornadoes, that swept through north and central Georgia during the morning. Training storms and ample moisture produced a swath of heavy rain stre…
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…
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 Rockdale 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.