Glynn County, GA Hurricane Preparedness: Flood Elevation (2026)

Coastal High Hazard Areas, mapped as V-Zones on the FEMA Flood Insurance Study for Glynn County, carry the highest storm-surge risk in the county's Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance because they see wave action on top of tidal flooding, the exact combination a hurricane produces. Section 2-5-141 requires new construction and substantial improvements to sit landward of the reach of mean high tide (paragraph a) and to be elevated on piles, columns, or shear walls running parallel to the flow of water, with the bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member, excluding the pilings themselves, no lower than one foot above the base flood elevation (paragraph b).

Every pile and column foundation must be anchored to resist flotation, collapse and lateral movement from combined wind and water loads, per paragraph (d), and a registered professional engineer or architect must certify the design on an elevation certificate under paragraph (e). Fill cannot be used as structural support anywhere in a V-Zone (paragraph i); non-compacted landscaping fill is allowed only if an engineer, architect or soil scientist shows it will wash out during storm surge rather than deflect waves onto neighboring property. The space below the lowest floor must stay open, usable only for parking, building access or storage behind breakaway walls, lattice or decorative screening designed to wash away under wave action (paragraphs f and h).

Manufactured homes are prohibited outright in V-Zones except in an existing manufactured home park, per paragraph (k), and dune or mangrove alteration that would raise flood damage risk is likewise barred.