Tybee Island: the flood rule decides the repair

Every address is in a flood zone

The City of Tybee Island says the whole island is a special flood hazard area, with flooding from storm surge, king tides or heavy rain. It has 3,114 residents (2020 census) and nearly half of its 2,994 housing units were vacant, mostly as rentals (Wikipedia, read 2 November 2026). Summer cottages lined the beach by the late 1890s, after the rail line from Savannah opened in 1887, and many of today's homes are elevated.

The 50 percent rule

New or substantially improved buildings in the 100 year floodplain need 1 foot of freeboard above base flood elevation. A HUD rule from 1 January 2025 asks for 2 feet on new homes with FHA loans. Any project that could reach the 50 percent substantial damage or improvement threshold needs the city's Reconstruction and Improvement affidavit, and the city has nine repetitive loss areas (City of Tybee Island flood information page). In practice, a large foundation or pier job can turn into a question about the whole house's value. Ask the permit office before work is scoped.

House lifting is already happening

In 2020 a $1.5 million FEMA grant through GEMA, 75 percent federal, 10 percent state and 15 percent owner, started lifting 10 homes, beginning on Lewis Avenue. Each must sit at least 2 feet above the 9 foot base flood elevation. Hurricane Irma had damaged an estimated 60 to 80 vulnerable homes, and one family had 28 inches of water on a lot about 6 feet above sea level (WSAV, 25 June 2020).

Roads and salt

US 80 is the only road on and off the island and floods at full and new moon tides (Union of Concerned Scientists, 30 March 2016). Salt air is hard on steel piers and fasteners, so ask what material and coating a company proposes and where it expects it to corrode.

Permits

Planning and Zoning at City Hall handles permits on (912) 472-5031. Permits are required for repairs. See the permit guide.

The island you know

Tybee Light, Butler Avenue, the Pier and Pavilion, Lazaretto Creek and the Fort Screven buildings are how everyone places themselves here. See also the cost page for how flood rules affect price.

Questions that belong on this island

Ask how a company would handle the 50 percent question: who figures the value of the house and the cost of the work, and who talks to the city? Ask what the piers and the connectors are made of and how salt air will treat them. Ask whether the job is a repair or an elevation, because they are reviewed differently. And ask how the plan would change if the house is later lifted under a mitigation program like the one that began on Lewis Avenue.

Where these facts come from

Read on 2 November 2026.

• City of Tybee Island flood information page.
• Wikipedia: Tybee Island, Georgia.
• WSAV, 25 June 2020.
• Union of Concerned Scientists, 30 March 2016.