Baconton’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Baconton comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 9 claims here since 1986. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Baconton’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Baconton flood? Rarely: 9 flood claims since 1986
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Baconton, from FEMA’s records.
Baconton isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Mitchell County.How exposed is Baconton?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 84% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.
Rated higher than 634 of the 674 Georgia towns we cover.
Baconton is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
What Baconton faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Hurricanes
Tornadoes
Cold waves
3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Baconton
Disasters that paid out in Baconton itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Baconton) and its biggest flood years.
- 2018Hurricane Michael451 households applied for aid$201K aid approved$13K to the City of Baconton for repairs
- 2009Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Straight-Line Winds55 households applied for aid$158K aid approved
- 2007Severe Storms and Tornadoes25 households applied for aid$55K aid approved
Mitchell County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.
Old photos of Baconton after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Baconton archive →Get ready for what Baconton actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Most disasters here begin in July–September
The month each of Mitchell County’s 13 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Baconton’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Baconton.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Baconton.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.