FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Dutch Island than in 97% of U.S. towns, mostly from hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Dutch Island gets a D− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (66%), then river and rain flooding (16%). 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 Dutch Island 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
Coastal flooding
Wildfire
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 Dutch Island’s grade
Hurricanes are 66% of the building damage FEMA expects in Dutch Island, and Dutch Island’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 10%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
D− higher expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Dutch Island’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.3M a year in losses across Dutch Island: $1.1M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Dutch Island flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Dutch Island. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Dutch Island isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Chatham County.The storms Dutch Island remembers
None of the 12 disasters declared for Chatham County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Dutch Island itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Chatham County has had 12 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.
Dutch Island and its neighbors
Dutch Island is 4th of the 4 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skidaway Island | D−more damage than 96% | hurricanes | 44 |
| Whitemarsh Island | D−more damage than 97% | hurricanes | 29 |
| Isle of Hope | D−more damage than 97% | hurricanes | 133 |
| Dutch Island | D−more damage than 97% | hurricanes | 0 |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Dutch Island 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.
- Know your evacuation zone and the way off the coast.
- Storm surge comes fast: leave when you’re told, not when the water arrives.
- Move cars to high ground before king tides and nor’easters.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- 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 Dutch Island
Is Dutch Island at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Dutch Island has higher expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (66%) and river and rain flooding (16%). 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 Dutch Island 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 Chatham County, 81% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 20.6% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Dutch Island?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Dutch Island’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Dutch Island at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (66%), and Dutch Island’s rate for it is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Dutch Island.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Dutch Island’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.