Natural hazards · Portal

Portal, GA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Portal comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Portal?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Portal to be higher than in 63% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes30%Inland flooding29%Drought12%Tornadoes11%Earthquakes6%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Portal faces

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

Hurricanes

30% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Inland flooding

29% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 49% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Drought

12% of expected damage

Recorded about 29 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 20 years in the area

Earthquakes

6% of expected damage

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

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat 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 Portal flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Bulloch County.

Disasters that hit Portal

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PortalDeclared for Bulloch County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

567 households applied for aid $619K aid approved $38K to the Town of Portal for repairs

2024

Tropical Storm Debby

50 households applied for aid $68K aid approved $175K to the Town of Portal for repairs

2017

Hurricane Irma

$11K to the Town of Portal for repairs

2016

Hurricane Matthew

22 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

2014

Severe Winter Storm

$3K to the Town of Portal for repairs

Bulloch County has had 14 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. Portal 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 Portal’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Portal. 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.