Natural hazards · Oglethorpe

Oglethorpe, GA natural hazards

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

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Oglethorpe to be higher than in 53% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding45%Drought13%Hurricanes12%Tornadoes9%Heat waves7%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Oglethorpe 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

Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Drought

13% of expected damage

Recorded about 44 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 11 years in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 19 years in the area

Heat waves

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Oglethorpe flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Macon County.

Disasters that hit Oglethorpe

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into OglethorpeDeclared for Macon County only

2018

Hurricane Michael

1 household applied for aid

Macon County has had 11 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. Oglethorpe 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 Oglethorpe’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Oglethorpe. 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.