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B−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Sunnyside · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Sunnyside faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Sunnyside gets a B− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 55% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (52%), then hurricanes (39%). Flood insurance has paid 9 claims here since 1979.

River and rain flooding 52%Hurricanes 39%Tornadoes 4%

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 55%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
B−
in Georgia · lower than 55% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
52% of expected building damage
Flood claims
9
paid since 1979 · $66K
Disasters paid out here
1
of 13 declared for Ware County
By hazard

What Sunnyside 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

52%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 69% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Hurricanes

39%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 3 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Earthquakes Strong wind Wildfire Hail Lightning Winter storms Ice 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 tornadoes at 14% of Sunnyside’s expected losses. Tornadoes do little damage to buildings (4.1%), 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 Sunnyside’s grade

River and rain flooding is 52% of the building damage FEMA expects in Sunnyside, and Sunnyside’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 69% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 39% (higher than 88% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Sunnyside sits
Sunnyside
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B− lower expected damage per building than 55% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Sunnyside’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding52%Hurricanes39%Tornadoes4%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $391K a year in losses across Sunnyside: $298K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Sunnyside’s 1,472 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Sunnyside flood? Rarely: 9 flood claims since 1979

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Sunnyside, from FEMA’s records: 16.0 per 1,000 homes, more than 81% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1979: 1 claim1980: 0 claims1981: 0 claims1982: 0 claims1983: 2 claims1984: 2 claims1985: 0 claims1986: 0 claims1987: 0 claims1988: 1 claim1989: 0 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 0 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 1 claim2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 1 claim2018: 1 claim2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims197919831984
19792026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Irma1 claim · $3K
9
paid claims since 1979
$66K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$7K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Ware County.
Disasters

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Sunnyside

Disasters that paid out in Sunnyside itself (aid to households or repair grants to Sunnyside), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2011Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Associated Flooding3 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in SunnysideWare County only

Ware 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 4 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Ware County, 2007–2017.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Sunnyside archive →
Next door

Sunnyside and its neighbors

Sunnyside is 3rd of the 3 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Waycross: hazard risk BDeenwood: hazard risk BWaycrossDeenwoodSunnyside
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
WaycrossBless damage than 59%river and rain flooding22
DeenwoodBless damage than 58%river and rain flooding1
SunnysideB−less damage than 55%river and rain flooding9

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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Sunnyside 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 ↗
Hurricane season
  • 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.
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 Sunnyside

Is Sunnyside at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Sunnyside has lower expected damage per building than 55% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (52%) and hurricanes (39%). 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.

Does Sunnyside flood?

Flood insurance has paid 9 claims in Sunnyside since 1979, $66K in all, or 16.0 per 1,000 homes, more than 81% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Irma (1).

Is Sunnyside 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 Ware County, 14% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.8% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Sunnyside?

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

What was the biggest storm in Sunnyside?

By FEMA money that reached Sunnyside, Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Associated Flooding (2011): 3 households applied for aid, $2K approved. By flood claims, Hurricane Irma: 1 paid, $3K.

Is Sunnyside at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (52%), and Sunnyside’s rate for it is lower than 69% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Sunnyside.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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