Bryan Neck Presbyterian Church · Photo: Bubba73 (Jud McCranie) · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA puts Buckhead’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 97% of U.S. towns, mostly from hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Buckhead gets a D− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns, #259 of 264 in Georgia. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (68%), then river and rain flooding (25%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What Buckhead faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
River and rain flooding
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
What’s behind Buckhead’s grade
Hurricanes are 68% of the building damage FEMA expects in Buckhead, and Buckhead’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 3%, at a rate in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
D− #259 of 264 in Georgia; higher expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Buckhead’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical Georgia town has lower expected damage than 72% of U.S. towns; within the state, Buckhead has more expected damage per building than 98% of Georgia towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $3.8M a year in losses across Buckhead: $3.3M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Buckhead flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Buckhead. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Buckhead isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Bryan County.The storms Buckhead remembers
None of the 13 disasters declared for Bryan County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Buckhead itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Bryan County has had 13 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Also 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Bryan County, 2007–2007.
Get ready for what Buckhead faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Buckhead
Is Buckhead at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Buckhead has higher expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk, #259 of 264 in Georgia. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (68%) and river and rain flooding (25%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Buckhead in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Bryan County, 93% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 20.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Buckhead?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Buckhead’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Buckhead at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (68%), and Buckhead’s rate for it is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Buckhead.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Buckhead’s residents lived in the 2020 census; 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. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.