Natural hazards · Chamblee

Chamblee, GA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Chamblee comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 22 claims here since 1979. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Chamblee?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Chamblee to be higher than in 18% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and earthquakes.

Inland flooding51%Earthquakes18%Tornadoes11%Cold waves6%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Chamblee faces

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

Inland flooding

51% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 25% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

18% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Chamblee flood?

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

22paid claims since 1979

$231Kpaid to owners

3homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Ivan: 4 claims, $80K
Hurricane Helene: 1 claim, $31K
Late summer storms: 1 claim, $39K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: DeKalb County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

23flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Chamblee

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ChambleeDeclared for DeKalb County only

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

66 households applied for aid $239K aid approved $17K to the City of Chamblee for repairs

2004

Hurricane Ivan

6 households applied for aid $15K to the City of Chamblee for repairs

2000

Severe Winter Storm

$11K to the City of Chamblee for repairs

DeKalb County has had 14 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.

Around Chamblee

Chamblee and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Brookhavenmostly inland floodingLow

Chambleemostly inland floodingVery low

Dunwoodymostly inland floodingVery low

Doravillemostly inland floodingVery low

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. Chamblee covers 6 census tracts, combined by population.

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

FEMA’s expected losses across Chamblee total about $5.0M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.