Natural hazards · Sky Valley

Sky Valley, GA natural hazards

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

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sky Valley to be higher than in 31% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding51%Cold waves20%Tornadoes9%Lightning6%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Sky Valley faces

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

Inland flooding

51% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 46% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

20% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 62 years in the area

Lightning

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHeat wavesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Sky Valley flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Rabun County.

Disasters that hit Sky Valley

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Sky ValleyDeclared for Rabun County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

1 household applied for aid

2017

Hurricane Irma

$14K to the City of Sky Valley for repairs

2004

Hurricane Ivan

5 households applied for aid $15K aid approved $37K to the City of Sky Valley for repairs

2004

Tropical Storm Frances

$24K to the City of Sky Valley for repairs

2000

Severe Winter Storm

$3K to the City of Sky Valley for repairs

Rabun County has had 17 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. Sky Valley 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 Sky Valley’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Sky Valley. 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.