Natural hazards · Commerce

Commerce, GA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Commerce comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Commerce?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Commerce to be higher than in 8% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding38%Tornadoes22%Cold waves12%Earthquakes7%Everything else22%

By hazard

What Commerce faces

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

Inland flooding

38% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 8% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Tornadoes

22% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 86 years in the area

Cold waves

12% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Earthquakes

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. places

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 Commerce flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Jackson County.

Disasters that hit Commerce

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CommerceDeclared for Jackson County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

$19K to the City of Commerce for repairs

2017

Hurricane Irma

$85K to the City of Commerce for repairs

2015

Severe Winter Storm

$115K to the City of Commerce for repairs

Jackson County has had 10 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and winter 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. Commerce 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 Commerce’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Commerce. 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.