Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Chatsworth

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
A.D. Strickland StoreA.D. Strickland Store · Photo: JDR4ever · CC BY-SA 4.0
B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Chatsworth · FEMA

FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Chatsworth than in 72% of U.S. towns, led by river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Chatsworth gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns, #129 of 264 in Georgia. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (47%), then earthquakes (25%). Flood insurance has paid 31 claims here since 1990.

River and rain flooding 47%Earthquakes 25%Tornadoes 22%

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

less than 72%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#129 of 264 in Georgia
Hazard risk
B+#129 of 264
in Georgia · lower than 72% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
47% of expected building damage
Flood claims
31
paid since 1990 · $568K
Flooded more than once
7
properties · 2 “severe repetitive loss”
Flood claims per home
17 per 1,000
more than 82% of U.S. towns

What stands out about Chatsworth’s natural hazards

From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.

Lower expected damage than 72% of U.S. townsFEMA’s model of yearly storm and flood damage per dollar of building.Remembers 20189 flood claims were paid for 2018 alone, the most of any year.
By hazard

What Chatsworth faces

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

River and rain flooding

47%of expected building damage
Well below average · lower than 82% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 1 years in the area

Earthquakes

25%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. census tracts

Tornadoes

22%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Hail Strong wind Ice storms Hurricanes Lightning Wildfire Winter storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 15% of Chatsworth’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.2%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Chatsworth’s grade

River and rain flooding is 47% of the building damage FEMA expects in Chatsworth, and Chatsworth’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 82% of U.S. census tracts. Tornadoes add 22%, at a rate in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Chatsworth sits
Chatsworth
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ #129 of 264 in Georgia; lower expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns (21,298).

Chatsworth’s residents live in 5 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding47%Earthquakes25%Tornadoes22%Everything else7%

The typical Georgia town has lower expected damage than 72% of U.S. towns; within the state, Chatsworth has less expected damage per building than 51% of Georgia towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.3M a year in losses across Chatsworth: $1.5M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

A small-area figure. Chatsworth covers 5 census tracts, combined by where residents live. FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims and disasters below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Chatsworth flood? Sometimes: 31 flood claims since 1990

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Chatsworth, from FEMA’s records: 17.1 per 1,000 homes, more than 82% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1990: 1 claim1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 1 claim1995: 0 claims1996: 5 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 6 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 5 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 2 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 9 claims2019: 1 claim2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 1 claim2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims199620012018
19902026
31
paid claims since 1990
$568K
paid to owners
7
homes flooded more than once
$18K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (2)Flooded 2+ times
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Chatsworth isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Murray County.
Disasters

The storms Chatsworth remembers

None of the 11 disasters declared for Murray County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Chatsworth itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 20189 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
  2. 20016 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
  3. 19965 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in ChatsworthMurray County only

Murray County has had 11 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

Old photos of Chatsworth after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Chatsworth archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Chatsworth faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Earthquakes
  • Drop, cover and hold on.
  • Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
  • Know how to shut off the gas.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Tornado warnings
  • Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
  • A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
  • Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Chatsworth

Is Chatsworth at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Chatsworth has lower expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk, #129 of 264 in Georgia. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (47%) and earthquakes (25%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Does Chatsworth flood?

Flood insurance has paid 31 claims in Chatsworth since 1990, $568K in all, or 17.1 per 1,000 homes, more than 82% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 7 properties have flooded more than once.

Is Chatsworth 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 Murray County, 7% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.1% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Chatsworth?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Chatsworth’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

Is Chatsworth at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (47%), and Chatsworth’s rate for it is lower than 82% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Chatsworth.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Chatsworth’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.