Natural hazards · Jay

Jay, FL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Jay comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Jay?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Jay to be higher than in 87% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes63%Inland flooding17%Tornadoes10%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Jay faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Hurricanes

63% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

17% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 40% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Jay flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Jay.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Jay isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Santa Rosa County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

32buildings retrofitted against wind

Disasters that hit Jay

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Jay itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the Town of Jay.

Brought FEMA money into JayDeclared for Santa Rosa County only

2020

Hurricane Sally

116 households applied for aid $166K aid approved

2014

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

12 households applied for aid $23K aid approved

2009

Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Straight-Line Winds

7 households applied for aid $21K aid approved

2005

Hurricane Dennis

620 households applied for aid $444K aid approved $39K to the Town of Jay for repairs

2004

Hurricane Ivan

1,424 households applied for aid $2.4M aid approved $166K to the Town of Jay for repairs

2004

Hurricane Frances

1 household applied for aid

Santa Rosa County has had 36 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Jay is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Jay’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Jay. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.