County storm facts
Storm prep for Chatham County residents
Chatham County has had 5,467 flood insurance claims since 1978, 13 federal disaster declarations for fires, storms, floods or mudslides since 1994, and 4 mapped wildfires that started here since 2021.
Sources:
Local data from official sources, updated weekly. This snapshot: September 29, 2026. Alerts load live from the National Weather Service when you open this page.
Active alerts now
Checking live alerts…
Source: National Weather Service alerts.
Forecasts for this county (NWS county zone GAC051) come from:
Source: National Weather Service (the exact query), data as of September 29, 2026.
Help right now
Live from FEMA and the Red Cross shelter list. Check your address on the home page for what’s nearest you.
Checking FEMA and the shelter list…
FEMA assistance
Open shelters
Hurricane evacuation zone
Find your hurricane evacuation zone on your state’s official map. We don’t show zones on this page yet.
Recent burn areas
4 fires that started in Chatham County since January 1, 2021 have a mapped perimeter, covering 1,532 acres in all.
Largest
| Fire | Year | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| Main Trail | 2026 | 842 |
| Loggerhead Fire Nwr | 2026 | 333 |
| Pavilion Trail | 2024 | 210 |
Acres are each fire’s whole mapped area, which can reach past the county line.
Burned ground soaks up less rain, so water can run off faster than usual in a heavy storm. Watch for flood warnings when heavy rain is forecast.
Source: NIFC WFIGS Interagency Fire Perimeters (the exact query), data as of September 29, 2026.
Flood history
5,467 flood insurance claims have been filed in Chatham County since 1978. 1,306 of them were for floods from 2017 to 2026.
The years with the most claims: 1999 (1,163), 2017 (984), 1994 (849).
This is history, not a prediction. These are National Flood Insurance Program claims, so they only count insured buildings.
FEMA’s data runs through September 8, 2026.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA, NFIP Redacted Claims (the exact query), data as of September 29, 2026.
Federal disaster declarations
Chatham County has been part of 13 federal disaster declarations for fires, storms, floods or mudslides since 1994: 0 for fires and 13 for storms, floods or mudslides.
Most recent
- Hurricane HeleneSeptember 30, 2024 · DR-4830-GA
- Hurricane HeleneSeptember 26, 2024 · EM-3616-GA
- Tropical Storm DebbySeptember 24, 2024 · DR-4821-GA
FEMA’s ids start with DR for a major disaster, EM for an emergency and FM for fire management.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA, Disaster Declarations Summaries (the exact query), data as of September 29, 2026.
Landslide-prone ground
USGS maps about 2% of Chatham County as ground susceptible to landslides.
This is a county-wide figure, not a rating for your spot. Steep slopes, road cuts and burned hillsides above you matter most in heavy rain.
From the USGS U.S. Landslide Inventory and Susceptibility data release (2024). Susceptible ground is terrain steep and high enough for landslides like those mapped in similar places. The inventory counts only slides someone mapped, and some states map few, so a low count doesn’t mean the ground is stable.
Source: USGS landslide susceptibility, county table (the exact query), data as of September 29, 2026.
Rain in past strong El Niño winters
October–March rainfall at the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport weather station in past strong El Niño winters, compared with its 1991–2020 normal.
Oct–Mar rainfall in past strong El Niño winters, as % of the 1991–2020 normal — Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport
5 of the 7 strong El Niño winters on record at Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport were wetter than normal. They ranged from 84% of normal (2023-24) to 172% (1997-98) — a tendency, not a guarantee.
| Winter | ONI (DJF) | Oct–Mar total | % of normal | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957-58 | 1.69 | 20.01 in | 104% | NOAA NCEI daily precipitation |
| 1972-73 | 1.55 | 21.65 in | 113% | NOAA NCEI daily precipitation |
| 1982-83 | 2.14 | 25.91 in | 135% | NOAA NCEI daily precipitation |
| 1991-92 | 1.54 | 17.42 in | 91% | NOAA NCEI daily precipitation |
| 1997-98 | 2.22 | 33.04 in | 172% | NOAA NCEI daily precipitation |
| 2015-16 | 2.50 | 19.97 in | 104% | NOAA NCEI daily precipitation |
| 2023-24 | 1.84 | 16.20 in | 84% | NOAA NCEI daily precipitation |
Source: NOAA NCEI (the exact query), data as of September 29, 2026.
Local help
Help lines, alert sign-ups and official emergency pages for this county and state.
- 211211 (United Way) (opens in a new tab)
- State alertsGEMA: Alerts and warnings (opens in a new tab)
- County emergency officesGEMA: Find a local emergency management agency (opens in a new tab)
- State agencyGeorgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA) (opens in a new tab)
- Federal disaster helpDisasterAssistance.gov (opens in a new tab)
- Open sheltersRed Cross open shelter finder (opens in a new tab)
- Road conditions511GA (opens in a new tab)
Power and internet outages
Power
Main power companies in Georgia. Your bill names yours; check your address to see which may serve it.
- Outage mapGeorgia Power (opens in a new tab)
Internet and phone
- Carrier statusAT&T outage map (opens in a new tab)
- Carrier statusSpectrum service status (opens in a new tab)
- Regional internet outagesCloudflare Radar: internet outages (opens in a new tab)
4 more we haven’t verified: search for them by name
- Carrier statusVerizon outage/status
- Carrier statusT-Mobile service status
- Carrier statusXfinity/Comcast support
- Carrier statusFrontier outage map
What about your street?
County numbers can’t tell you about your home. Check your address against the official flood, fire and landslide maps and live warnings.