Natural hazards · Oconee

Oconee, GA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Oconee comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Oconee?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Oconee to be higher than in 21% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and drought.

Inland flooding40%Drought16%Hurricanes9%Tornadoes9%Heat waves8%Earthquakes6%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Oconee faces

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

Inland flooding

40% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 24% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Drought

16% of expected damage

Recorded about 52 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 13 years in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 18 years in the area

Heat waves

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 54% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 67% of U.S. places

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 Oconee flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Washington County.

Disasters that hit Oconee

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into OconeeDeclared for Washington County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

16 households applied for aid $10K aid approved

Washington County has had 10 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and winter 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. Oconee 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 Oconee’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Oconee. 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.