Natural hazards · St. Simons

St. Simons, GA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in St. Simons comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 99 claims here since 2016. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is St. Simons?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in St. Simons to be higher than in 79% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and coastal flooding.

Hurricanes48%Coastal flooding20%Inland flooding15%Wildfire5%Everything else13%

By hazard

What St. Simons faces

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

Hurricanes

48% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Coastal flooding

20% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

15% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 8% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Wildfire

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

DroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 St. Simons flood?

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

99paid claims since 2016

$2.9Mpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20162026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Irma: 70 claims, $2.4M
Hurricane Nicole: 12 claims, $318K
Hurricane Matthew: 7 claims, $93K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Glynn County.

Disasters that hit St. Simons

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in St. Simons itself: aid to households, or repair grants to St. Simons.

Brought FEMA money into St. SimonsDeclared for Glynn County only

2017

Hurricane Irma

37 households applied for aid $10K aid approved

2016

Hurricane Matthew

8 households applied for aid $200 aid approved

Glynn County has had 15 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. St. Simons covers 5 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to St. Simons’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to St. Simons. 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 St. Simons total about $7.4M 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.