States › Georgia

Georgia

The recorded hazard history of every county in Georgia: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, and National Flood Insurance Program claims since 1978.

Georgia has 56,743 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950 across 159 counties, led by damaging wind: 98.3 per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally.

NCEI attributes 447 deaths and 5,408 injuries to those events, with property damage estimated at $8.7B. By events per 100 square miles the leading counties are Clarke, Douglas and Clayton.

FEMA lists 81 disaster declarations touching the state since 1953, most recently Highway 82 Fire (22 Apr 2026). NFIP policyholders filed 24,479 flood claims since 1978, $520M paid; 58,557 residential policies are in force.

1,541events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

56,743events since 195098.3 per 100 sq mi (US 56.0)

81disaster declarations since 1953last 22 Apr 2026

24,479NFIP flood claims$520M paid

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. Storm records through 30 Jun 2026; declarations refreshed 29 Sep 2026; claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Compared with the United States

Measure	Georgia	US
Recorded events since 1950	56,743	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	98.3	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	52.5	59.6
Deaths recorded by NCEI	447	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$8.7B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	2.3	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$29K	$43K
Residential flood policies in force	58,557	3,139,862

Hazard mix

Wind25,855

Hail8,810

Drought5,192

Winter3,362

Flood3,250

Tropical2,359

Tornado2,356

Cold1,561

Heat1,333

Lightning1,315

Other907

Fog228

Wildfire215

Hazard	Events	Share of US	Deaths
■ Wind	25,855	3.7%	79
■ Hail	8,810	2.1%	—
■ Drought	5,192	6.1%	—
■ Winter	3,362	1.2%	13
■ Flood	3,250	1.8%	18
■ Tropical	2,359	21.2%	43
■ Tornado	2,356	2.9%	220
■ Cold	1,561	2.9%	1
■ Heat	1,333	2.4%	21
■ Lightning	1,315	7.3%	40
■ Other	907	2.0%	5
■ Fog	228	1.2%	7
■ Wildfire	215	2.3%	—

Events by decade

Hail: 24Tornado: 147Wind: 81

Hail: 77Tornado: 209Wind: 260

Hail: 156Tornado: 296Wind: 631

Hail: 438Tornado: 207Wind: 1658

Hail: 2224Tornado: 230Flood: 284Wind: 3800Winter: 311Tropical: 41Heat: 273Cold: 227Drought: 385Wildfire: 1Lightning: 112Fog: 4Other: 37

Hail: 3424Tornado: 448Flood: 1177Wind: 5833Winter: 1147Tropical: 1438Heat: 719Cold: 1201Drought: 2191Wildfire: 41Lightning: 744Fog: 221Other: 485

Hail: 1739Tornado: 452Flood: 691Wind: 7148Winter: 1420Tropical: 481Heat: 241Cold: 47Drought: 1837Wildfire: 149Lightning: 380Fog: 2Other: 230

Hail: 728Tornado: 367Flood: 1098Wind: 6444Winter: 484Tropical: 399Heat: 100Cold: 86Drought: 779Wildfire: 24Lightning: 79Fog: 1Other: 155

2521950s5461960s1,0831970s2,3031980s7,9291990s19,0692000s14,8172010s10,7442020s

Recorded events in Georgia by decade and hazard group, including events recorded by forecast zone. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterTropicalHeatColdDroughtWildfireLightningFogOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Counties by events per 100 square miles

County	Events	Last 12 mo	Per 100 sq mi	Per 10k residents	Dominant	Tornadoes	Hail	Declarations	NFIP claims	NRI risk
Clarke County	362	5	303.6	28.1	Wind	6	46	13	38	Relatively Low
Douglas County	581	15	290.3	39.8	Wind	10	96	18	215	Relatively Low
Clayton County	398	6	281.0	13.4	Wind	13	80	15	286	Relatively Moderate
Fayette County	520	7	267.3	43.1	Wind	12	94	14	163	Relatively Low
Rockdale County	301	6	231.9	32.0	Wind	6	36	16	70	Relatively Low
Chatham County	990	51	228.6	33.4	Wind	32	183	19	5,467	Relatively High
Muscogee County	485	6	224.0	23.6	Wind	18	75	13	243	Relatively Moderate
Cobb County	760	6	223.7	9.9	Wind	31	222	19	2,031	Relatively High
Spalding County	434	6	221.5	63.9	Wind	27	55	18	24	Very Low
Forsyth County	497	5	221.3	19.1	Wind	10	109	17	66	Relatively Moderate
Dade County	380	4	218.4	232.8	Wind	9	68	20	9	Very Low
Catoosa County	353	4	217.7	51.6	Wind	7	48	17	324	Relatively Low
Barrow County	338	5	209.9	39.0	Wind	5	58	14	11	Relatively Low
Bibb County	505	8	202.5	32.2	Wind	26	98	16	155	Relatively Low
Gwinnett County	870	7	202.0	9.0	Wind	12	190	14	487	Relatively High
DeKalb County	521	12	194.6	6.9	Wind	16	127	17	1,998	Relatively Moderate
Stephens County	348	6	194.6	129.5	Wind	10	58	18	13	Very Low
Cherokee County	796	11	189.0	29.0	Wind	29	170	19	73	Relatively Moderate
White County	442	5	183.6	155.4	Wind	9	63	21	58	Relatively Low
Coweta County	793	30	179.8	52.9	Wind	33	161	15	38	Relatively Low
Dawson County	373	6	176.9	130.9	Wind	4	48	19	3	Very Low
Whitfield County	509	5	175.2	49.5	Wind	7	70	16	93	Relatively Moderate
Fulton County	903	6	171.4	8.5	Wind	38	239	21	3,100	Relatively High
Walton County	560	9	171.3	56.1	Wind	13	75	13	33	Relatively Low
Peach County	256	5	170.3	90.1	Wind	15	49	17	6	Very Low
Oconee County	305	5	165.5	70.9	Wind	12	37	13	4	Very Low
Pickens County	379	17	163.3	111.4	Wind	10	64	22	14	Very Low
Habersham County	440	5	158.9	94.1	Wind	17	88	21	22	Very Low
Hall County	617	5	157.0	29.8	Wind	28	141	19	46	Relatively Moderate
Paulding County	490	12	156.9	28.2	Wind	10	78	19	54	Relatively Low
Chattooga County	487	9	155.4	195.3	Wind	7	65	15	52	Relatively Low
Banks County	350	5	150.5	188.6	Wind	10	52	17	2	Very Low
Butts County	276	7	150.3	107.1	Wind	12	41	19	47	Very Low
Towns County	247	5	148.4	191.8	Winter	1	21	14	31	Very Low
Houston County	556	5	147.9	33.3	Wind	27	91	17	162	Relatively Low
Polk County	457	9	147.3	105.1	Wind	11	91	17	143	Relatively Low
Lowndes County	716	21	144.0	60.0	Wind	22	57	18	135	Relatively Low
Dougherty County	471	21	143.3	55.5	Wind	19	63	17	1,255	Relatively Moderate
Columbia County	412	3	142.0	25.8	Wind	8	106	14	164	Relatively Low
Henry County	449	5	140.9	18.3	Wind	27	114	16	78	Relatively Low
Bartow County	637	5	138.8	57.5	Wind	26	139	19	50	Relatively Low
Pike County	296	6	137.0	152.0	Wind	14	27	21	4	Very Low
Troup County	565	16	136.5	81.0	Wind	23	118	14	76	Relatively Low
Richmond County	442	8	136.3	21.5	Wind	10	99	15	574	Relatively Moderate
Floyd County	664	5	130.2	67.2	Wind	19	116	19	382	Relatively Moderate
Lumpkin County	367	4	129.7	107.1	Wind	11	50	23	18	Relatively Low
Hart County	300	8	129.1	113.6	Wind	11	42	14	1	Very Low
Lamar County	235	5	128.1	123.2	Wind	14	27	19	5	Very Low
Newton County	347	5	126.7	30.1	Wind	17	61	20	45	Relatively Low
Tift County	328	25	125.7	79.6	Wind	24	48	20	90	Relatively Low
Gordon County	440	4	123.4	75.6	Wind	17	108	18	44	Relatively Low
Jackson County	419	6	123.4	52.2	Wind	10	79	14	7	Very Low
Effingham County	588	19	122.8	88.1	Wind	15	117	17	77	Relatively Low
Carroll County	606	8	121.4	49.7	Wind	28	109	22	60	Relatively Low
Evans County	216	3	118.1	202.4	Wind	4	26	17	7	Very Low
Upson County	381	11	117.8	137.4	Wind	21	60	22	26	Very Low
Franklin County	307	6	117.5	129.1	Wind	13	41	16	1	Very Low
Baldwin County	299	4	115.6	68.3	Wind	9	44	14	7	Relatively Low
Haralson County	326	3	115.5	106.6	Wind	23	63	17	1	Very Low
Rabun County	426	8	115.1	248.8	Wind	6	61	21	31	Relatively Low
Murray County	394	6	114.4	98.6	Wind	13	56	15	42	Relatively Low
Union County	363	5	112.7	142.2	Wind	3	45	16	61	Relatively Low
Crisp County	304	4	111.5	152.9	Wind	11	43	17	70	Relatively Low
Madison County	308	7	109.1	99.7	Wind	9	53	14	2	Very Low
Lanier County	210	10	106.8	212.0	Wind	7	22	17	5	Very Low
Fannin County	397	6	102.6	153.8	Wind	9	42	18	92	Relatively Low
Bleckley County	216	4	100.1	171.3	Wind	19	23	16	1	Very Low
Gilmer County	426	5	100.0	133.0	Wind	17	58	20	199	Relatively Low
Heard County	291	1	98.3	251.6	Wind	12	60	19	3	Very Low
Walker County	438	4	98.1	63.9	Wind	10	74	19	135	Relatively Low
Morgan County	338	7	97.3	163.8	Wind	7	42	13	1	Very Low
Elbert County	341	10	97.1	174.2	Wind	15	60	16	5	Very Low
Schley County	158	3	94.7	352.8	Wind	7	20	12	0	Very Low
Pulaski County	231	4	92.7	232.9	Wind	15	27	16	15	Very Low
Cook County	207	14	90.6	120.2	Wind	17	20	18	9	Very Low
Candler County	219	11	90.1	198.4	Wind	6	31	22	6	Very Low
Twiggs County	322	5	89.6	409.9	Wind	25	38	17	1	Very Low
Treutlen County	178	4	89.3	282.3	Wind	9	21	19	0	Very Low
Glascock County	128	4	89.0	438.5	Drought	4	13	13	0	Very Low
Quitman County	133	9	87.9	593.0	Wind	7	10	11	1	Very Low
Worth County	501	27	87.8	243.7	Wind	38	52	19	35	Very Low
Ben Hill County	219	16	87.6	127.6	Wind	14	22	15	22	Very Low
Lincoln County	184	1	87.5	237.4	Wind	10	41	13	0	Very Low
Lee County	311	28	87.4	93.1	Wind	15	36	14	700	Very Low
Bulloch County	589	15	87.1	71.4	Wind	18	104	22	183	Relatively Low
Turner County	248	15	86.9	276.6	Wind	10	34	16	1	Very Low
Monroe County	343	4	86.6	119.5	Wind	19	47	21	61	Very Low
Johnson County	258	6	85.1	281.7	Wind	11	36	19	2	Very Low
Putnam County	293	5	85.0	129.7	Wind	7	47	15	5	Relatively Low
Harris County	391	6	84.3	109.8	Wind	26	66	14	11	Very Low
Crawford County	265	4	81.6	218.1	Wind	13	33	20	0	Very Low
Miller County	222	14	78.6	375.1	Wind	13	18	14	16	Very Low
Taliaferro County	153	5	78.6	982.0	Wind	0	11	16	0	Very Low
Glynn County	329	12	78.4	38.8	Wind	25	54	20	1,996	Relatively Moderate
Seminole County	186	16	78.3	202.2	Wind	8	6	12	80	Very Low
Chattahoochee County	194	5	78.0	214.4	Wind	13	21	11	2	Very Low
Thomas County	425	22	78.0	92.7	Wind	20	43	20	63	Relatively Low
Montgomery County	187	3	77.5	216.1	Wind	6	20	21	32	Very Low
Clay County	151	12	77.3	523.9	Wind	10	2	14	0	Very Low
Colquitt County	420	18	76.8	91.7	Wind	38	59	20	64	Relatively Low
Liberty County	394	3	76.3	60.0	Wind	15	87	18	174	Relatively Moderate
Webster County	160	5	76.3	676.0	Wind	7	20	16	0	Very Low
Mitchell County	387	15	75.6	179.8	Wind	28	30	18	100	Relatively Low
Tattnall County	357	6	74.2	154.9	Wind	13	68	23	26	Relatively Low
Jones County	289	3	73.4	101.8	Wind	13	42	17	10	Very Low
Camden County	462	8	73.3	83.0	Wind	25	95	21	346	Relatively Low
Jasper County	269	3	73.0	176.1	Wind	6	42	17	9	Very Low
Irwin County	252	14	71.1	262.0	Wind	10	30	14	1	Very Low
Screven County	455	18	70.5	322.6	Wind	23	53	21	5	Relatively Low
Coffee County	417	25	70.4	96.1	Wind	28	55	21	45	Relatively Low
Laurens County	560	12	69.4	113.0	Wind	36	92	19	49	Relatively Low
Greene County	265	6	68.4	135.6	Wind	5	34	16	2	Very Low
Taylor County	256	5	68.0	328.2	Wind	20	33	15	4	Very Low
Dooly County	266	8	67.7	244.4	Wind	21	36	17	19	Very Low
Meriwether County	339	5	67.7	163.0	Wind	25	48	17	0	Very Low
McDuffie County	173	7	67.2	80.0	Wind	8	41	15	1	Very Low
Bacon County	190	12	66.9	171.5	Wind	18	28	19	1	Very Low
Toombs County	243	3	66.8	90.3	Wind	11	32	23	36	Very Low
Grady County	302	28	66.5	116.5	Wind	24	23	17	13	Relatively Low
Berrien County	299	22	65.9	164.8	Wind	13	27	20	8	Very Low
Terrell County	219	14	65.2	244.3	Wind	10	18	10	6	Very Low
Sumter County	314	4	65.0	107.2	Wind	27	33	14	16	Relatively Low
Pierce County	221	18	64.9	110.6	Wind	15	38	19	11	Very Low
Jeff Davis County	209	17	63.2	140.5	Wind	8	39	20	11	Very Low
Oglethorpe County	273	5	62.2	180.3	Wind	7	33	15	0	Very Low
Appling County	315	11	62.0	170.4	Wind	17	50	20	28	Relatively Low
Long County	246	4	61.4	143.4	Wind	5	51	18	17	Very Low
Dodge County	303	4	61.1	153.3	Wind	18	35	17	1	Relatively Low
Decatur County	363	21	60.8	125.0	Wind	28	26	19	204	Relatively Low
Jenkins County	209	5	60.2	241.9	Wind	9	23	21	10	Very Low
Warren County	171	5	60.1	326.3	Wind	6	16	13	0	Very Low
Wheeler County	177	3	59.9	236.9	Wind	8	12	18	10	Very Low
Talbot County	234	6	59.8	407.5	Wind	21	21	16	6	Very Low
Brantley County	259	16	58.4	143.1	Wind	8	53	23	23	Very Low
Macon County	231	6	57.7	192.4	Wind	13	21	15	5	Very Low
Atkinson County	197	10	57.5	234.8	Wind	11	31	19	2	Very Low
Telfair County	246	3	56.3	198.2	Wind	13	28	18	6	Very Low
Brooks County	277	16	56.2	170.3	Wind	15	21	20	16	Very Low
Early County	286	20	55.8	269.3	Wind	39	24	15	40	Relatively Low
Marion County	204	6	55.8	274.2	Wind	11	24	13	0	Very Low
Wilkinson County	248	5	55.2	280.8	Wind	13	34	16	0	Very Low
Wayne County	352	18	54.8	115.9	Wind	14	74	19	7	Relatively Low
Baker County	185	15	54.1	656.3	Wind	10	4	19	40	Very Low
Calhoun County	150	16	53.5	272.3	Wind	14	7	14	5	Very Low
Wilcox County	197	4	52.1	225.4	Wind	14	21	18	0	Very Low
Bryan County	222	8	50.7	47.3	Wind	8	65	21	285	Relatively Low
McIntosh County	212	1	49.1	190.6	Wind	7	57	22	66	Relatively Low
Wilkes County	229	5	48.8	240.7	Wind	5	28	17	0	Very Low
Burke County	384	6	46.4	158.0	Wind	23	72	20	2	Very Low
Randolph County	196	14	45.8	311.8	Wind	16	10	12	1	Very Low
Washington County	307	4	45.2	155.2	Wind	23	52	16	14	Very Low
Jefferson County	232	5	44.1	149.4	Wind	15	32	19	2	Very Low
Emanuel County	285	5	41.9	125.5	Wind	15	49	22	6	Very Low
Stewart County	190	8	41.4	355.7	Wind	16	21	16	0	Very Low
Hancock County	181	4	38.4	209.7	Wind	9	19	15	0	Very Low
Ware County	334	7	37.1	92.7	Wind	20	51	24	44	Relatively Low
Clinch County	281	14	34.5	417.8	Wind	9	49	20	5	Very Low
Charlton County	240	12	30.8	188.0	Wind	11	50	21	39	Very Low
Echols County	118	11	28.1	319.0	Wind	5	12	19	1	Very Low

Events are county-recorded plus zone-recorded events whose zone is named for the county. NRI risk is FEMA's National Risk Index overall rating (December 2025).

Counties by flood claims per 100 policies in force

County	Claims, last 10 years	Policies in force	Claims per 100 policies	Claims since 1978	Paid
Lee County	76	218	34.9	700	$17M
Catoosa County	79	237	33.3	324	$5.6M
Fulton County	625	2,308	27.1	3,100	$96M
Crisp County	45	174	25.9	70	$2.2M
Bibb County	55	214	25.7	155	$3.8M
Butts County	25	102	24.5	47	$1.6M
Bulloch County	94	417	22.5	183	$4.9M
Clayton County	69	312	22.1	286	$3.3M
Richmond County	140	672	20.8	574	$5.2M
Union County	27	134	20.1	61	$678K
Lowndes County	61	329	18.5	135	$5.0M
Gordon County	19	103	18.4	44	$1.8M
Columbia County	94	515	18.3	164	$2.1M
Polk County	18	104	17.3	143	$981K
Whitfield County	19	116	16.4	93	$5.2M

Counties with at least 100 residential policies in force. Claims by year of loss in the ten years to 2026, divided by residential policies in force as of 3 Aug 2026; a rough ratio, since policies in force today differ from those in force when the losses occurred.

Federal disaster declarations by year

195319902026

Declarations touching Georgia by year declared, 1953 to 2026; each disaster number counted once.

Incident type	Declarations
Severe Storm	17
Hurricane	16
Fire	14
Tornado	13
Flood	9
Tropical Storm	3
Severe Ice Storm	3
Biological	2
Winter Storm	1
Snowstorm	1

Most recent declarations (each disaster number once, with the number of counties designated):

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Counties
22 Apr 2026	FM-5630	Fire management assistance	Fire	Highway 82 Fire	1
21 Apr 2026	FM-5629	Fire management assistance	Fire	Pineland Road Fire	2
24 Jan 2026	EM-3642	Emergency	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	112
30 Sep 2024	DR-4830	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Helene	94
26 Sep 2024	EM-3616	Emergency	Tropical Storm	Hurricane Helene	159
24 Sep 2024	DR-4821	Major disaster	Tropical Storm	Tropical Storm Debby	35
5 Aug 2024	EM-3607	Emergency	Tropical Storm	Hurricane Debby	55
7 Sep 2023	DR-4738	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Idalia	32
16 Jan 2023	DR-4685	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes	9
5 May 2021	DR-4600	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Tornadoes	9
12 Jan 2021	DR-4579	Major disaster	Hurricane	Tropical Storm Zeta	21
29 Mar 2020	DR-4501	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	159
13 Mar 2020	EM-3464	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	159
1 Sep 2019	EM-3422	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Dorian	12
14 Oct 2018	DR-4400	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Michael	69

Flood insurance claims by year

197820022026

NFIP claims in Georgia by year of loss, 1978 to 2026.

24,479 claims, 18,220 paid, $520M in total; 2,022 repetitive-loss and 240 severe repetitive-loss properties. ZIP codes in Georgia with flood claims (341).

Year by year

Each year's events, declarations and claims: 2026 · 2025 · 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019 · 2018 · 2017 · 2016 · 2015 · 2014 · 2013 · 2012 · 2011 · 2010 · 2009 · 2008 · 2007 · 2006 · 2005 · 2004 · 2003 · 2002 · 2001 · 2000 · 1999 · 1998 · 1997 · and earlier years back to 1950

Questions and answers

Which Georgia counties have the most recorded tornadoes?

Early (39), Colquitt (38) and Fulton (38), by NCEI count since 1950. Larger counties record more events; the state table also ranks by events per 100 square miles.

Which Georgia counties have the most flood insurance claims?

Chatham (5,467), Fulton (3,100) and Cobb (2,031) since 1978, in the OpenFEMA NFIP claims file.

How many federal disaster declarations has Georgia had?

81 declarations since 1953 (major disaster, emergency and fire management assistance declarations combined), 3 of them in 2026 so far.

How does Georgia compare with the national rate?

98.3 recorded events per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally; 2.3 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 8.1.

Provenance

NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 refreshed 29 Sep 2026; OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026); FEMA National Risk Index December 2025; US Census Bureau 2021 population and area. Built 30 Sep 2026. Methodology.