Natural hazards · Baxley

Baxley, GA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Baxley comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 7 claims here since 1998. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Baxley?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Baxley to be higher than in 76% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes60%Inland flooding15%Tornadoes8%Cold waves5%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Baxley faces

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

Hurricanes

60% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

15% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 9% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 56% of U.S. places

Cold waves

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 56% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Baxley flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Baxley, from FEMA’s records.

7paid claims since 1998

$185Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19982026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Idalia: 1 claim, $84K
Hurricane Irma: 1 claim, $4K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Appling County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1buildings retrofitted against wind

Disasters that hit Baxley

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BaxleyDeclared for Appling County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

4,612 households applied for aid $8.5M aid approved $1.6M to the City of Baxley for repairs

2024

Tropical Storm Debby

$115K to the City of Baxley for repairs

2023

Hurricane Idalia

$118K to the City of Baxley for repairs

2017

Hurricane Irma

1 household applied for aid $52K to the City of Baxley for repairs

2017

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

$36K to the City of Baxley for repairs

2004

Tropical Storm Frances

$5K to the City of Baxley for repairs

Appling County has had 14 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. Baxley 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 Baxley’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Baxley. 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.