Natural hazards · Bristol

Bristol, GA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bristol comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bristol?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bristol to be higher than in 66% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes48%Inland flooding24%Tornadoes7%Drought6%Cold waves6%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Bristol faces

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

Hurricanes

48% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Inland flooding

24% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 37% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 58% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 27 years in the area

Drought

6% of expected damage

Recorded about 20 times a year in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 62% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Bristol flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Pierce County.

Disasters that hit Bristol

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BristolDeclared for Pierce County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

182 households applied for aid $174K aid approved

2009

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

2 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

Pierce County has had 13 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. Bristol 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 Bristol’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Bristol. 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.