Natural hazards · Bartow

Bartow, GA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bartow comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bartow?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bartow to be higher than in 29% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.

Inland flooding31%Drought18%Hurricanes14%Tornadoes12%Earthquakes8%Everything else16%

By hazard

What Bartow faces

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

Inland flooding

31% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 24% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Drought

18% of expected damage

Recorded about 43 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

14% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 20 years in the area

Earthquakes

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Bartow flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Jefferson County.

Disasters that hit Bartow

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BartowDeclared for Jefferson County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

528 households applied for aid $729K aid approved $67K to the Town of Bartow for repairs

2017

Hurricane Irma

$5K to the Town of Bartow for repairs

2014

Severe Winter Storm

$8K to the Town of Bartow for repairs

2008

Severe Storms and Tornadoes

6 households applied for aid $3K aid approved

Jefferson County has had 12 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. Bartow 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 Bartow’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Bartow. 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.