Natural hazards · Cleveland

Cleveland, GA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cleveland comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2020. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Cleveland?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cleveland to be higher than in 13% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves34%Inland flooding25%Tornadoes16%Strong wind11%Earthquakes6%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Cleveland faces

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

Cold waves

34% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

25% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 11% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

16% of expected damage

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

Strong wind

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesLightning

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 Cleveland flood?

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

2paid claims since 2020

$360Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20202026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: White County.

Disasters that hit Cleveland

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ClevelandDeclared for White County only

2020

Tropical Storm Zeta

$13K to the City of Cleveland for repairs

2017

Hurricane Irma

$13K to the City of Cleveland for repairs

2011

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

13 households applied for aid $145 aid approved

2004

Hurricane Ivan

22 households applied for aid $19K aid approved

2000

Severe Winter Storm

$9K to the City of Cleveland for repairs

White County has had 16 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. Cleveland covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Cleveland’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Cleveland. 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 Cleveland total about $1.8M 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.