Georgia floods

Every recorded flood since 1996 · 159 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 3,250 floods and flash floods in Georgia from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 113 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the September 20, 2009 flash flood: 10 deaths, 1 injury and $368 million in damage in 2025 dollars across 48 records. Georgia ranks 27th of 52 states and territories by count and 32nd of 51 per square mile.

Floods in Georgia, 1996 to 2026

Flood records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

recorded, no damage figure
under $1 million
$1 million or more
$10 million or more
$100 million or more, or 10 deaths
$1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
a year with a death

Records: 3,2501996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000: 113average
Deaths: 1818 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $962Mas filed
Busiest year: 2020313 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are floods and flash floods common in Georgia?

Georgia averages about 113 floods and flash floods a year since 2000, 27th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2020 (313). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Georgia records 563 floods and flash floods since 1996, 32nd of 51 states and territories by that measure.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Georgia have the most floods and flash floods?

Per square mile, DeKalb County leads Georgia: 56 days with a flood since 1996, 209.2 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Chatham County has the most flood records (143 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

DeKalb County 209.2 (70)
Chatham County 161.8 (143)
Fulton County 144.3 (122)
Habersham County 126.4 (44)
Forsyth County 120.2 (33)
Douglas County 109.9 (28)
Fayette County 107.9 (24)
Cobb County 106.0 (53)
Muscogee County 101.6 (31)
Dougherty County 100.4 (66)
Columbia County 99.9 (43)
Clayton County 98.8 (21)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is flood season in Georgia?

Georgia's floods and flash floods by month. The busiest month is March (486 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 117 · Feb 210 · Mar 486 · Apr 223 · May 220 · Jun 294 · Jul 433 · Aug 375 · Sep 448 · Oct 166 · Nov 96 · Dec 182 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

What were the deadliest floods and flash floods in Georgia?

Georgia: the storms with the most deaths since 1996
Date	Record	Killed	Injured	Damage
2009-09-20	Flash FloodDglasvle Pinewood Ar, Douglas County One storm episode: 48 records in 17 places, 2009-09-20 to 2009-09-21; the totals are the episode's. A historical, record, and catastrophic flood event unfolded during this period, mostly in the west central Georgia area, including the western and northwestern suburbs of Atlanta. Major flooding was noted in many other areas of north and central Georgia, including the eastern suburbs of Atlanta, northwest Georgia, and ...	10	1	$368M
2003-05-07	Flash FloodCountywide, Troup County One storm episode: 15 records in 13 places, 2003-05-07 to 2003-05-08; the totals are the episode's. The Georgia Emergency Management Agency, along with the local Troup county Emergency Manager, reported that excessive rainfall led to extensive and historical flooding across the county. Some areas received as much as 10 inches of rain in 24 hours. Many roads were flooded and washed out. Several major roads, including ...	2	5	$40M
2004-09-16	Hurricane Ivan · Flash FloodCountywide, White County One named storm filed by several offices: 21 records in 5 episodes, 2004-09-16 to 2004-09-27; the totals are the storm's. The Georgia Emergency Management Agency, along with local newspapers, reported extensive and widespread flooding across White county. A six-year old girl, was swept away in flood waters, while outside in the front yard of her mobile home. The mobile home park was flooded by the waters from a nearby small stream. In ...	1	2	$77M
2013-05-07	FloodPinson, Floyd County The Calhoun Times Newspaper reported a car drove into flood waters off Thomas Bluff Road just inside Floyd County after a high speed chase with the Gordon County Police. The driver got out and tried to swim away. The person drowned and his body was found four days later.	1	1	–
1998-03-08	FloodBaker County · forecast zone Baker One storm episode: 16 records in 16 places; the totals are the episode's. An intense Gulf storm produced 5 to 12 inches of rain across much of southwest Georgia on March 7-9 which caused widespread flooding. Baker, Ben Hill, Cook, Colquitt, Dougherty, Lee, Miller, Mitchell, Terrell, Decatur, Early, Brooks, Colquitt, Clay, Seminole, Calhoun, Thomas, and Worth counties were declared federal ...	1	1	$291M
2008-08-23	Flash FloodBeachton, Grady County One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. Tropical Storm Fay made its fourth landfall on Saturday, August 23rd near Carrabelle, Florida, then continued on a steady westward path across the Florida Panhandle. Intense rain bands, which trained over the same locations during the afternoon and evening hours, producing extremely high rainfall rates and subsequent ...	1	0	$14M
2005-07-06	Flash FloodPeachtree City, Fayette County The Fayette County Emergency Management Director reported that flash flooding occurred in some areas of Peachtree City in particular. Rainfall of five inches or more was common across much of the county between 7 pm and 10 pm EDT, especially the western and northern sections. Several homes were flooded in Peachtree ...	1	0	$246K
2001-03-03	Flash FloodEllerslie, Harris County The Harris county 911 center reported that thunderstorms dumped very heavy rainfall across the county. Rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches in a 6 hour period were common across much of the county. Around 10 pm EST a 19-year old male and an additional occupant tried to cross swollen Randall Creek near Georgia Highway 315 ...	1	0	–

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest floods and flash floods in Georgia

Georgia: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Killed	Injured	Damage
2009-09-20	Flash FloodDglasvle Pinewood Ar, Douglas County One storm episode: 48 records in 17 places, 2009-09-20 to 2009-09-21; the totals are the episode's.	10	1	$368M
1998-03-08	FloodBaker County · forecast zone Baker One storm episode: 16 records in 16 places; the totals are the episode's.	1	1	$291M
2004-09-16	Hurricane Ivan · Flash FloodCountywide, White County One named storm filed by several offices: 21 records in 5 episodes, 2004-09-16 to 2004-09-27; the totals are the storm's.	1	2	$77M
2003-05-07	Flash FloodCountywide, Troup County One storm episode: 15 records in 13 places, 2003-05-07 to 2003-05-08; the totals are the episode's.	2	5	$40M
2005-07-11	Flash FloodCountywide, Cobb County One storm episode: 8 records in 8 places; the totals are the episode's.	0	1	$16M
2008-08-23	Flash FloodBeachton, Grady County One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's.	1	0	$14M
2002-09-15	Flash FloodCountywide, Seminole County One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's.	0	0	$13M
1999-06-29	Flash FloodEast Portion, Chatham County	0	0	$12M

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are floods and flash floods becoming more frequent in Georgia?

Georgia's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Floods: Georgia and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
Decade	Georgia	United States	Georgia's share
1996-99	284	20,986	1.4%
2000s	1,177	54,913	2.1%
2010s	691	68,322	1.0%
2020-26	1,098	43,563	2.5%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent floods and flash floods in Georgia

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
Date	Record	Damage
2026-06-20	FloodFolkston, Charlton County	–
2026-06-20	FloodColesburg, Camden County	–
2026-06-19	Flash FloodQueensland, Ben Hill County	–
2026-06-19	Flash FloodWestwood, Ben Hill County	–
2026-06-19	FloodSurrency, Appling County	–
2026-06-19	Flash FloodLotts, Coffee County	$5K
2026-06-19	Flash FloodHoboken, Brantley County	–
2026-06-19	Flash FloodHortense, Brantley County	–
2026-06-19	FloodHomerville, Clinch County	–
2026-06-19	FloodDupont, Clinch County	–
2026-06-19	Flash FloodBlackshear, Pierce County	–
2026-06-19	Flash FloodSapps Still, Coffee County	$30K

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

Federal disaster declarations for floods and flash floods in Georgia

FEMA has declared 20 disasters in Georgia for floods and flash floods, counting its incident type and declarations that name flood in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 19 were major disasters, the latest on January 26, 2017.

The 12 most recent
Declared	Number	Title	Areas named
2017-01-26	DR-4297	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding	23
2016-02-26	DR-4259	Severe Storms and Flooding	34
2011-04-29	DR-1973	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Associated Flooding	26
2009-09-24	DR-1858	Severe Storms and Flooding	23
2009-04-23	DR-1833	Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Straight-Line Winds	47
1998-03-11	DR-1209	Severe Storms and Flooding	119
1994-10-19	DR-1042	Heavy Rains, Tornados, Flooding, High Winds	13
1994-07-07	DR-1033	Tornadoes, Flooding Torrential Rain(Trop Storm Alberto)	55
1994-03-31	DR-1020	Tornadoes, Flooding, and Severe Storms	12
1991-03-15	DR-897	Severe Storms & Flooding	15
1990-10-19	DR-880	Severe Storms & Flooding	9
1990-02-23	DR-857	Severe Storms, Tornaodes & Flooding	38

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.