Natural hazards · Hazlehurst

Hazlehurst, GA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Hazlehurst comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 2003. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Hazlehurst?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Hazlehurst to be higher than in 43% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes38%Inland flooding29%Tornadoes14%Cold waves6%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Hazlehurst faces

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

Hurricanes

38% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

29% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 16% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Tornadoes

14% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 28 years in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 55% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Hazlehurst flood?

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

3paid claims since 2003

$18Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20032026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Idalia: 1 claim, $751

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Jeff Davis County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Hazlehurst

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HazlehurstDeclared for Jeff Davis County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

4,405 households applied for aid $7.6M aid approved $15.9M to the City of Hazlehurst for repairs

2024

Tropical Storm Debby

$32K to the City of Hazlehurst for repairs

2009

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

$16K to the City of Hazlehurst for repairs

2004

Tropical Storm Frances

$29K to the City of Hazlehurst for repairs

Jeff Davis County has had 14 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. Hazlehurst 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 Hazlehurst’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Hazlehurst. 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.