Natural hazards · Dawson

Dawson, GA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Dawson comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2018. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Dawson?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Dawson to be higher than in 25% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding26%Tornadoes21%Drought16%Hurricanes13%Cold waves10%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Dawson faces

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

Inland flooding

26% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 24% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Tornadoes

21% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 16 years in the area

Drought

16% of expected damage

Recorded about 45 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

13% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 6 years 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 Dawson flood?

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

1paid claims since 2018

$23Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20182026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Terrell County.

Disasters that hit Dawson

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into DawsonDeclared for Terrell County only

2018

Hurricane Michael

980 households applied for aid $254K aid approved $27K to the City of Dawson for repairs

Terrell County has had 6 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. Dawson 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 Dawson’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Dawson. 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.