Shelby, AL
Shelby County in Alabama has 11 FEMA disaster declarations on record covering 1973–2024, most recently Hurricane Helene on Sep 26, 2024 (DR-3618). Its flood risk grade is B (Moderate risk), ranking #135 of 3,277 U.S. counties, with 29 NFIP flood insurance claims totaling $1,717,477 in payouts. Flood risk is relatively low compared to the national average.
FEMA Disaster Declarations in Shelby County
The 11 most recent federally declared disasters affecting Shelby County, AL (1973–2024). Total declarations on record: 11.
| Declared | Incident Type | Title | FEMA Disaster # |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 26, 2024 | Hurricane | Hurricane Helene | DR-3618 |
| Sep 14, 2020 | Hurricane | Hurricane Sally | DR-3545 |
| Oct 8, 2017 | Hurricane | Hurricane Nate | DR-3394 |
| Sep 11, 2017 | Hurricane | Hurricane Irma | DR-3389 |
| Aug 30, 2008 | Hurricane | Hurricane Gustav | DR-3292 |
| Sep 10, 2005 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | DR-3237 |
| Jul 10, 2005 | Hurricane | Hurricane Dennis | DR-1593 |
| Sep 15, 2004 | Hurricane | Hurricane Ivan | DR-1549 |
| Apr 18, 1979 | Flood | Storms, Wind, Flooding | DR-578 |
| Mar 14, 1975 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | DR-458 |
| May 29, 1973 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | DR-388 |
Score Breakdown
The composite score of 21 is calculated from four weighted factors. See our methodology for details.
Other Counties in Alabama
| County | Grade | Score | Claims | Disasters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson | B | 21 | 76 | 14 |
| Tuscaloosa | B | 21 | 12 | 11 |
| Montgomery | B | 22 | 18 | 12 |
| Houston | A | 20 | 7 | 13 |
| Choctaw | A | 17 | 2 | 17 |
| Clarke | A | 17 | 0 | 17 |
More Counties in Alabama
Frequently Asked Questions
How many FEMA disaster declarations does Shelby County, AL have?
Shelby County, AL has 11 federal disaster declarations on FEMA record (1973–2024). The 5 most recent are: Hurricane Helene (declared Sep 26, 2024, DR-3618); Hurricane Sally (declared Sep 14, 2020, DR-3545); Hurricane Nate (declared Oct 8, 2017, DR-3394); Hurricane Irma (declared Sep 11, 2017, DR-3389); Hurricane Gustav (declared Aug 30, 2008, DR-3292). Counts include flood, severe storm, hurricane, and coastal storm declarations from the OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries dataset.
What is the flood risk grade for Shelby County, AL?
Shelby County is graded B (composite score 21/100, moderate risk). It ranks #135 of 3,277 U.S. counties for flood risk in our scoring model. The grade combines NFIP claims density (40%), disaster frequency (25%), claim severity (20%), and year-over-year trend (15%).
How many NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Shelby County?
29 NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Shelby County, AL, totaling $1,717,477 in payouts. The average claim is $59,223. Source: FEMA FimaNfipClaims v2 dataset.
Has Shelby County, AL had any recent flood disasters?
Yes. The most recent FEMA declaration affecting Shelby County was Hurricane Helene on Sep 26, 2024 (DR-3618). The county has 11 declared disasters in the OpenFEMA record covering 1973–2024.
For this entity, the underlying data on this page comes from FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims. The breakdown above is the federal record; the paragraphs below add the per-entity context that makes the headline numbers usable for a real decision rather than just a data lookup.
The methodology behind every numeric value on this page is publicly documented on the FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims portal and described in detail on this site’s methodology page. Refresh cadence varies by underlying series; the page surfaces the as-of date for each number so readers can trace any figure back to the source release.
Practical use of this page is in combination with the comparison and ranking pages elsewhere on the site, which surface the same data for this entity’s peers within U.S. ZIPs, counties, and states. A single-entity reading without peer context can be misleading when an entity is an outlier on one axis but typical on another.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA datasets, 2026.