Natural hazards · Jefferson

Jefferson, GA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Jefferson comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2014. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Jefferson?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Jefferson to be higher than in 16% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding45%Tornadoes19%Cold waves10%Earthquakes7%Everything else19%

By hazard

What Jefferson faces

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

Inland flooding

45% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 18% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Tornadoes

19% of expected damage

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

Cold waves

10% 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 66% 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 Jefferson flood?

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

2paid claims since 2014

$11Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20142026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Jefferson 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 Jefferson

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into JeffersonDeclared for Jackson County only

2017

Hurricane Irma

$57K to the City of Jefferson for repairs

Jackson County has had 10 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and winter storms.

Around Jefferson

Jefferson and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Arcademostly inland floodingLow

Pendergrassmostly inland floodingLow

Jeffersonmostly inland floodingVery low

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. Jefferson 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 Jefferson’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Jefferson. 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.