Natural hazards · Matthews

Matthews, GA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Matthews comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Matthews?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Matthews to be higher than in 27% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding35%Tornadoes14%Hurricanes13%Drought12%Earthquakes8%Heat waves5%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Matthews faces

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

Inland flooding

35% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Tornadoes

14% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 16 years in the area

Hurricanes

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 12 years in the area

Drought

12% of expected damage

Recorded about 51 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

8% of expected damage

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

Heat waves

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 53% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Matthews flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Jefferson County.

Disasters that hit Matthews

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MatthewsDeclared for Jefferson County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

147 households applied for aid $272K aid approved

2008

Severe Storms and Tornadoes

4 households applied for aid

Jefferson County has had 12 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. Matthews 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 Matthews’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Matthews. 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.