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Bay County, FL flood insurance claims history

9,005 National Flood Insurance Program claims have been filed for flood losses in Bay County since 1978, and FEMA has paid out $337.5M on them. The worst year was 1995 with 3,026 claims. Bay County ranks #16 of 67 in Florida by claim count.

At a glance

  • 54% of claims came from buildings outside FEMA’s high-risk flood zones (B, C or X), where lenders usually do not require flood insurance.
  • 33% of all claims trace to a single event — Hurricane Opal (1995), which paid $138.8M here.
  • Flood claims were filed in 10 of the last 10 years — flooding here is a regular event, not a once-in-a-generation one.
  • More flood claims than 77% of the 67 Florida counties with any claims on file — and more than all 5 of its neighbors.
  • ZIP 32407 has the most claims in the county (1,625, 18%). Check your ZIP →
NFIP claims
9,005
1978 – 2026
Total paid
$337.5M
nominal dollars, not inflation-adjusted
Claims paid
70%
6,338 received a payment
Average payout
$53K
per paid claim
Last 10 years
2,801
claims 2017 – 2026
Most recent loss
2026-08-27
data as of 2026-09-07

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Pick your ZIP code to see how many insured buildings there filed flood claims, in which years, and how much was paid. Narrow by year or flood zone too. Everything runs in your browser — nothing you pick is sent anywhere.

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Flood claims by year

Peak: 3,026 claims in 1995
 
 
'80
 
 
 
 
'85
 
 
 
 
'90
 
 
 
 
'95
 
 
 
 
'00
 
 
 
 
'05
 
 
 
 
'10
 
 
 
 
'15
 
 
 
 
'20
 
 
 
 
'25
 

Claims by year of loss, 1978–2026. Spikes line up with named storms and major rain events; quiet years still see claims from local flash flooding.

Biggest flood events in Bay County

Flood event (FEMA name)ClaimsPaidAvg / claimYear
Hurricane Opal2,980$138.8M$47K1995
Hurricane Michael2,129$125.7M$59K2018
Hurricane Dennis461$15.1M$33K2005
Hurricane Ivan324$6.0M$18K2004
Hurricane Sally296$9.2M$31K2020
Hurricane Kate210$450K$2K1985
Hurricane Georges (Panhandle)191$1.8M$9K1998
Hurricane Earl146$1.7M$12K1998
Tropical Storm Fred72$3.4M$47K2021
Mid-spring storms26$306K$12K2014
Hurricane Isaac23$266K$12K2012
Hurricane Elena19$130K$7K1985

76% of claims here fall under these 12 entries. “FEMA general label” groups many separate floods under one name; the rest of the claims have no event name.

Claims by flood zone

Not sure what the zone letters mean? Flood zones explained →

High-risk A zones: 3,846 (43%)Coastal high-risk V zones: 305 (3%)Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X): 4,826 (54%)Zone not recorded: 28 (0%)
Flood zone at ratingClaimsPaidAvg / claim
High-risk A zones (A, AE, AH, AO, A1–A30, AR)3,846$134.7M$35K
Coastal high-risk V zones (V, VE, V1–V30)305$11.5M$38K
Moderate / low-risk zones (B, C, X)4,826$191.1M$40K
Zone not recorded28$198K$7K

What caused the flooding

Cause of damage (as coded by FEMA)ClaimsShare
Accumulation of rainfall or snowmelt4,36548%
Tidal water overflow (storm surge)2,43927%
Other causes1,64918%
Stream, river or lake overflow4155%
Not recorded1041%
Not recorded (expedited claim handling)150%

Flood claims by ZIP code in Bay County

35 ZIP codes in Bay County have at least one NFIP claim. ZIP codes can cross county lines; this table counts only claims FEMA assigned to Bay County.

324071,625$47.5M18%362024
324081,398$41.7M16%432026
324441,221$34.8M14%272026
324051,135$26.1M13%362025
324131,032$49.6M11%392026
32404838$18.0M9%332026
32456753$95.6M8%212024
32401552$12.4M6%322024
32409191$3.5M2%162023
32410123$5.6M1%102018
3246638$409K0%132020
26$377K0%92005
3240216$274K0%61999
324619$188K0%32004
324009$301K0%32004
324117$278K0%32014
324385$35K0%42024
334104$55K0%32005
325743$1K0%31993
321402$261K0%21998
320872$19K0%22018
324032$00%12018
324372$37K0%22014
324621$7K0%12009
342071$17K0%11995
331311$86K0%11995
331331$19K0%11995
324171$180K0%11995
324801$109K0%11995
324591$00%11995
324331$00%11995
324281$4K0%11995
335351$5390%11985
323561$10K0%11995
323151$6K0%11995

Click a column to sort. Click a ZIP to load it in the lookup above.

When does Bay County flood?

October accounts for the most flood losses (5,294 claims, 59%). Claims by month of loss:

MonthClaimsShare
January380%
February1972%
March1752%
April1251%
May991%
June440%
July1,01311%
August3244%
September1,42516%
October5,29459%
November2513%
December200%

Year-by-year detail

Year of lossClaimsPaid
20265$26K
20254$16K
202419$115K
202313$134K
202215$159K
2021178$6.3M
2020347$10.7M
201923$339K
20182,185$126.2M
201712$150K
201633$335K
201512$88K
201433$321K
2013528$13.6M
201232$279K
20117$12K
201019$276K
200933$196K
2008169$3.7M
20075$2K
20063$6K
2005528$16.5M
2004344$6.0M
200327$147K
200211$55K
200117$72K
200013$149K
199976$675K
1998698$9.7M
199714$29K
199616$71K
19953,026$139.6M
199424$322K
19937$0
199210$7K
1991103$360K
19901$0
19891$0
198818$26K
19878$3K
19862$2K
1985255$636K
198445$172K
198326$8K
198218$21K
19812$6K
19805$10K
197924$71K
197811$9K

Neighboring counties

Bay County borders 5 areas we cover. Flood risk does not stop at a county line, so it is worth comparing.

NeighborClaimsPaidOutside high-risk
Bay County (this page)9,005$337.5M54%
Walton County3,174$68.5M59%
Gulf County1,717$94.7M26%
Washington County184$4.6M17%
Calhoun County142$2.1M20%
Jackson County72$877K41%

All 67 Florida counties → · County and ZIP rankings →

Common questions about flooding in Bay County

Has Bay County flooded recently?
Yes — the most recent flood loss with an insurance claim on file was on 2026-08-27, and claims were filed in 10 of the last 10 years (2,801 claims from 2017 to 2026). FEMA’s data runs to 2026-09-07, so the newest events may not appear yet.
Do I need flood insurance in a low-risk zone here?
Lenders generally require it only in high-risk A and V zones. But 54% of Bay County’s claims came from moderate- and low-risk zones. Whether to buy coverage is your call — see flood zones explained and check your address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.
Can I see whether a specific house has flooded?
Not here. FEMA removes addresses before publishing, so these figures describe areas, never a property. Our guide how to check if a house has flooded lists the questions and records that can tell you about a specific home.
Why might the real number of floods be higher?
Only buildings with National Flood Insurance can file these claims, and most homes are not insured for flood. More on what the counts mean in understanding NFIP claims data.

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About these numbers

Figures are aggregated from FEMA’s OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims dataset (county FIPS 12005, data as of 2026-09-07). They cover only properties that carried National Flood Insurance — most homes do not, and private flood policies are not included — so real flood damage is larger than these counts show. Dollar amounts are as paid, in nominal dollars. Flood zone is the zone used to rate the policy at the time, which may differ from today’s map. FEMA states this dataset is not an official federal report. Use it for background, not for a purchase, insurance or legal decision; for a specific property ask the seller for its flood disclosure or the owner’s NFIP loss history.