Natural hazards · Pelham

Pelham, GA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Pelham comes from tornadoes, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2024. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Pelham?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

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

Tornadoes29%Hurricanes28%Inland flooding25%Cold waves6%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Pelham faces

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

Tornadoes

29% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Hurricanes

28% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

25% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 32% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Pelham flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Pelham, from FEMA’s records.

1paid claims since 2024

$3Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20242026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Mitchell County.

Disasters that hit Pelham

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PelhamDeclared for Mitchell County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

1 household applied for aid $1K aid approved

2018

Hurricane Michael

848 households applied for aid $193K aid approved $109K to the City of Pelham for repairs

2009

Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Straight-Line Winds

24 households applied for aid $15K aid approved

Mitchell County has had 13 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. Pelham covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Pelham’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Pelham. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Pelham total about $1.4M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.