Natural hazards · Damascus

Damascus, GA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Damascus 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 Damascus?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Damascus to be higher than in 71% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes40%Inland flooding20%Tornadoes11%Drought11%Cold waves10%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Damascus faces

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

Hurricanes

40% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Inland flooding

20% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 34% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Drought

11% of expected damage

Recorded about 47 times a year in the area

Cold waves

10% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 67% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times 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 Damascus flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Early County.

Disasters that hit Damascus

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into DamascusDeclared for Early County only

2018

Hurricane Michael

223 households applied for aid $152K aid approved

2009

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

25 households applied for aid $10K aid approved

Early County has had 11 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. Damascus 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 Damascus’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Damascus. 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.