Natural hazards · Jekyll Island

Jekyll Island, GA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Jekyll Island comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Jekyll Island?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Jekyll Island to be higher than in 74% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes52%Inland flooding15%Coastal flooding12%Cold waves6%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Jekyll Island faces

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

Hurricanes

52% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Inland flooding

15% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 6% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Coastal flooding

12% of expected damage

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

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat 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 Jekyll Island flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Glynn County.

Disasters that hit Jekyll Island

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Jekyll IslandDeclared for Glynn County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

10 households applied for aid $6K aid approved

2017

Hurricane Irma

39 households applied for aid $5K aid approved

2016

Hurricane Matthew

9 households applied for aid

Glynn County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.

Around Jekyll Island

Jekyll Island and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Jekyll Islandmostly hurricanesHigh

Brunswickmostly hurricanesHigh

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. Jekyll Island 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 Jekyll Island’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Jekyll Island. 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.