Natural hazards · Georgetown

Georgetown, GA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Georgetown comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 37 claims here since 1994. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Georgetown?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Georgetown to be higher than in 95% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes.

Hurricanes63%Coastal flooding14%Inland flooding11%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Georgetown faces

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

Hurricanes

63% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Coastal flooding

14% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

11% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 22% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

DroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Georgetown flood?

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

37paid claims since 1994

$379Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19942026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Irma: 9 claims, $103K
Hurricane Matthew: 4 claims, $47K
Hurricane Debby: 1 claim, $9K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Chatham County.

Disasters that hit Georgetown

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into GeorgetownDeclared for Chatham County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

1 household applied for aid

Chatham County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.

Around Georgetown

Georgetown and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Georgetownmostly hurricanesVery high

Savannahmostly hurricanesVery high

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. Georgetown covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Georgetown’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Georgetown. 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 Georgetown total about $4.2M 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.