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Risk & Response

Pickens County, GA

Community risk profile | NRI Score: 47.5 Relatively Moderate

34,951
Population
7
Departments
66
Stations
9
Census Tracts

Natural Hazard Loss Profile

Expected annual loss across the 18 natural hazards in FEMA's National Risk Index. Life safety is expressed in fatality-equivalents, combining expected deaths and injuries. Property loss counts building damage only, not agriculture.

Natural Hazard Life Safety
0.22
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
60th highest of 159
Life Safety per 100k
0.64
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
76th highest of 159
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$7.8M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
61st highest of 159
Property Loss per Resident
$224
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
79th highest of 159

These figures cover natural hazards only. Structure fire, EMS, and motor vehicle incidents are not in the National Risk Index, so this is not an all-cause life safety measure. For Pickens County, the largest single contributor is Cold Wave, 42% of the life-safety total.

Pickens County carries an expected under 1 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $7.8M in building loss per year. Rank chips compare the 159 Georgia counties. Nationally, Pickens County ranks 1829th of 3,222 U.S. counties for life-safety loss, 2323rd for life safety per 100k residents, 1780th for property loss, and 2566th for property loss per resident. Computed from census tract data covering every resident, independent of fire department boundaries.

Add fire mortality, cause, and loss

Natural hazard exposure is only part of the risk. Fire deaths and injuries, cause of ignition, and dollar loss per incident come from NERIS incident reporting, which grows as departments serving Pickens County enroll. Our Regional tier adds that data for the departments your jurisdiction sponsors, next to public risk and NERIS adoption for every department in Pickens County.

Talk to us about Pickens County See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

70%
27%
Property (buildings): $7.8M (69.7%)
Life safety: $3.1M (27.3%)
Agriculture: $335K (3.0%)

Total expected annual loss: $11,204,304 per year. Life safety is shown here in dollars, at FEMA's $13.7M value of statistical life, so the three shares sum to the total.

Hazards Ranked Two Ways

The hazard that threatens people is often not the hazard that destroys buildings. Both columns cover the same 18 hazards over the same year.

By life-safety loss ($/yr)

Cold Wave
$1.3M
Tornado
$776K
Lightning
$444K
Strong Wind
$387K
Earthquake
$65K
Heat Wave
$45K

By property loss ($/yr)

Inland Flooding
$5.7M
Tornado
$1.2M
Earthquake
$372K
Hail
$212K
Strong Wind
$129K
Wildfire
$68K

Census Tract Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across the census tracts in Pickens County. Gray tracts have no modeled loss or no resident population. Per-resident figures on this map use the National Risk Index 2020 tract population.

Fire Service Profile

71%
29%
Combination: 71% (5)
Volunteer: 29% (2)
Residents per Station
530
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
188.8
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 7 departments registered in NERIS Public for Pickens County, GA. Departments that have not registered are not counted. Station coverage divides census population by registered stations; department service areas overlap, so their populations are not summed.

Department Rankings

Fire and EMS departments serving Pickens County. Click column headers to sort.

NRI Rating is from FEMA's National Risk Index, which measures community risk across 18 natural hazards using expected annual losses, social vulnerability, and community resilience. Life-Safety Loss uses FEMA's Value of Statistical Life ($13.7M per expected fatality) to estimate annual risk to human life.

Department boundaries and station counts are self-reported through NERIS Public and may not reflect current service areas. Population and Life-Safety Loss reflect each department's full jurisdiction. County-level risk metrics are computed from census tract data and are not affected by boundary accuracy. See full methodology.

Showing 7 departments
Department ▲ Est. Population ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲ Stations ▲
Cherokee County Fire & Emergency Services 246,738 $17.1M Relatively Moderate 51
Pickens County Fire-Rescue 34,870 $2.8M Relatively Moderate 8
Jasper Fire Department 16,043 $1.5M Relatively Moderate 2
Yellow Creek Volunteer Fire Department 9,654 $807.9K Relatively Low 1
Big Canoe Fire Department 5,707 $529.7K Relatively Moderate 0
Bethany-Salem Fire Department 5,613 $461.6K Relatively Moderate 2
Bent Tree Volunteer Fire Department 3,761 $309.1K Relatively Moderate 2
No departments match your search.

Risk Snapshot

12.0%
Poverty Rate
23.0%
Age 65+
18.5%
Disability Rate
12.0%
Uninsured
20.8%
Pre-1980 Housing
13.5%
Mobile Homes
13.7%
Vacancy Rate
1.9%
Wood Heat
$81,208
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

9
Last 10 Years
15
Last 25 Years
Hurricane
Most Frequent

Every department in your region, on one briefing

Our Regional tier gives state fire marshals and county fire authorities one briefing across every department in the jurisdiction: priority tracts ranked by risk and demand, NERIS adoption by county, and a quarterly report with a page per department. Response times appear for the departments you sponsor. Free 90-day pilot.

Explore the Regional Tier See the Response Demo