Natural hazards · Sardis

Sardis, GA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sardis comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Sardis?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sardis to be higher than in 28% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.

Inland flooding28%Hurricanes22%Drought13%Tornadoes13%Earthquakes10%Heat waves5%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Sardis faces

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

Inland flooding

28% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 18% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Hurricanes

22% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Drought

13% of expected damage

Recorded about 36 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 12 years in the area

Earthquakes

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Heat waves

5% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 44% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 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 Sardis flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Burke County.

Disasters that hit Sardis

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SardisDeclared for Burke County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

598 households applied for aid $835K aid approved $69K to the City of Sardis for repairs

2014

Severe Winter Storm

$33K to the City of Sardis for repairs

2008

Severe Storms and Tornadoes

2 households applied for aid $4K aid approved

Burke 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. Sardis 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 Sardis’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Sardis. 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.