Natural hazards · Lithonia

Lithonia, GA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lithonia comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low 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 Lithonia?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lithonia to be higher than in 3% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding50%Tornadoes13%Earthquakes11%Cold waves8%Hail6%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Lithonia faces

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

Inland flooding

50% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 5% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 58% of U.S. places

Earthquakes

11% of expected damage

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

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Hail

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce 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 Lithonia flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: DeKalb County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Lithonia

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into LithoniaDeclared for DeKalb County only

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

668 households applied for aid $950K aid approved

2008

Severe Storms and Tornadoes

138 households applied for aid $41K aid approved

2004

Hurricane Ivan

49 households applied for aid $28K aid approved $4K to the City of Lithonia for repairs

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