Natural hazards · Waynesville

Waynesville, GA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Waynesville comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Waynesville?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Waynesville to be higher than in 74% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes42%Inland flooding30%Tornadoes8%Cold waves8%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Waynesville faces

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

Hurricanes

42% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Inland flooding

30% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 50% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 53% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 61 years in the area

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Recorded about once 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 Waynesville flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Brantley County.

Disasters that hit Waynesville

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WaynesvilleDeclared for Brantley County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

276 households applied for aid $338K aid approved

2017

Hurricane Irma

6 households applied for aid $500 aid approved

2016

Hurricane Matthew

3 households applied for aid $797 aid approved

2009

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

16 households applied for aid $71K aid approved

Brantley County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and fires.

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. Waynesville 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 Waynesville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Waynesville. 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.