Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0For coastal flooding, Sullivan’s building-damage rate is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Sullivan gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (40%), then river and rain flooding (32%). 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 stands out about Sullivan’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Sullivan 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
Ice storms
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 Sullivan’s grade
Hurricanes are 40% of the building damage FEMA expects in Sullivan, and Sullivan’s rate of hurricanes damage is higher than 88% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 16%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
B lower expected damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Sullivan’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $387K a year in losses across Sullivan: $294K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Sullivan flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Sullivan. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Sullivan isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Hancock County.2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Sullivan
Disasters that paid out in Sullivan itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Sullivan), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Severe Storms and Flooding11 households applied for aid$22K aid approved
- 2007Flooding$23K to the Town of Sullivan for repairs
Hancock County has had 18 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.
Old photos of Sullivan after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Sullivan archive →Sullivan and its neighbors
Sullivan is 3rd 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hancock | B+less damage than 70% | hurricanes | 3 |
| Franklin | Bless damage than 62% | hurricanes | — |
| Sullivan | Bless damage than 62% | hurricanes | 0 |
| Gouldsboro | B−less damage than 52% | hurricanes | 2 |
| Sorrento | — | 345 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
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 Sullivan 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.
- Ice brings down trees and lines: plan for days without power.
- Run a generator outside, far from doors and windows.
- Keep sand or salt by the door.
- 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 Sullivan
Is Sullivan at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Sullivan has lower expected damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (40%) and river and rain flooding (32%). 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 Sullivan 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 Hancock County, 13% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Sullivan?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Sullivan’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 Sullivan?
By FEMA money that reached Sullivan, Flooding (2007): $23K to the Town of Sullivan for repairs.
Is Sullivan at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (40%), and Sullivan’s rate for it is higher than 88% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Sullivan.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Sullivan’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.