26 flood insurance claims·$343,306 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 Upson 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 severe weather events dominates the flood risk profile in Upson County, Georgia, based on historical storm event data. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 24 flash flood events, 14 tropical storm events, 13 general flood events, and 3 hurricane events.
This risk is exemplified by severe weather in March 2023, when a prolonged active weather pattern brought extreme rainfall to the region, dropping a swath of 4 or more inches of rain—with isolated amounts exceeding 10 inches—that resulted in widespread flash flooding across the state on March 26 and March 27.
Federal insurance claims data reflects differing impacts across flood zones. Properties located in FEMA Zone A experienced the highest frequency of National Flood Insurance Program claims with 19 filings, averaging a payout of $15,389 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Zone X recorded 4 claims with an average payout of $13,947 and an average recorded water depth of 78 inches, while Zone UNKNOWN recorded 3 claims with an average payout of $13,285 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents managing properties in Zone A and Zone X should pay the closest attention to these historical flood and water depth patterns.
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 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 1994, with 5 claims and $100,849 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.
23 NOAA storm reports from Upson County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Georgia flood stories →
22 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 |
| Hurricane Michael | Oct 9, 2018 |
| Hurricane Irma | Sep 7, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jan 21, 2017 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Dec 22, 2015 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 10, 2014 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Associated Flooding | Apr 27, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
54 since 1996: 24 flash floods and 13 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Mar 27, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 26, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 26, 2023 | $30,000 |
| Flash Flood | Oct 6, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 6, 2021 | $30,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 28, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 17, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 23, 2018 | $25,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
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 · Mar 26, 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 Upson 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.