States › South Carolina › Charleston County

Charleston County, South Carolina

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 45019 · 413,024 residents (2021) · 918 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 300Tornado · 61Flood · 595Wind · 712Winter · 35

Charleston County within South Carolina. Dots: HailTornadoFloodWind event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Charleston County, South Carolina, has 1,921 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them damaging wind.

That is 209.3 events per 100 square miles, above the South Carolina figure of 108.7, and 46.5 per 10,000 residents against 62.9 statewide.

118 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 17 deaths and 48 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $48M and crop damage at $3K.

FEMA has designated the county in 27 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Winter Storm (emergency, 23 Jan 2026).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 19,289 claims since 1978, of which 13,284 were paid, totalling $312M (about $24K per paid claim). FEMA counts 46,856 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively High" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively High" ($500M a year across 18 hazards).

144 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 17 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

118events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

1,921events since 195017 deaths, 48 injuries recorded

27disaster declarationslast 23 Jan 2026

19,289NFIP flood claims$312M paid

Compared with South Carolina and the United States

Measure	Charleston County	South Carolina	US
Recorded events since 1950	1,921	32,670	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	209.3	108.7	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	46.5	62.9	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	118	677	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	17	288	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$48M	$1.9B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	46.7	9.6	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$24K	$30K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	5.3	6.9	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Hail: 2Tornado: 1Wind: 2

Hail: 3Tornado: 9Wind: 16

Hail: 2Tornado: 4Wind: 13

Hail: 12Tornado: 3Wind: 38

Hail: 26Tornado: 3Flood: 10Wind: 53Tropical: 6Heat: 3Cold: 1Drought: 3Lightning: 2Other: 2

Hail: 148Tornado: 18Flood: 123Wind: 164Winter: 3Tropical: 9Heat: 6Cold: 1Drought: 17Lightning: 14Other: 8

Hail: 79Tornado: 7Flood: 223Wind: 291Winter: 25Tropical: 66Heat: 14Wildfire: 2Lightning: 20Other: 5

Hail: 28Tornado: 16Flood: 239Wind: 135Winter: 7Tropical: 18Heat: 1Cold: 4Wildfire: 2Lightning: 11Fog: 1Other: 2

51950s281960s191970s531980s1091990s5112000s7322010s4642020s

Recorded events in Charleston County by decade and hazard group. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterTropicalHeatColdDroughtWildfireLightningFogOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 1,558 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 270 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Wind712

Flood595

Hail300

Tropical99

Tornado61

Lightning47

Winter35

Heat24

Drought20

Other17

Cold6

Wildfire4

Fog1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	712	3	4.1%	detail
■ Flood	595	1	23.3%	detail
■ Hail	300	—	4.5%	detail
■ Tropical	99	—	18.5%
■ Tornado	61	—	4.6%	detail
■ Lightning	47	2	9.1%
■ Winter	35	2	1.9%	detail
■ Heat	24	7	12.9%
■ Drought	20	—	2.4%
■ Other	17	1	4.6%
■ Cold	6	1	2.7%
■ Wildfire	4	—	16.7%
■ Fog	1	—	1.6%

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
1 Aug 1999	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	6	—	Forecast zone
15 Apr 2008	Strong Wind	Wind	46 mph	$5K	—	2	2	Forecast zone
1 Feb 2026	Winter Weather	Winter	—	—	—	1	1	Forecast zone
13 Aug 2010	Heavy Rain	Other	—	$10K	—	1	—	County
3 Feb 1996	Cold/Wind Chill	Cold	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
1 Jun 1998	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
2 Sep 2001	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	1	—	County
13 Jul 2004	Strong Wind	Wind	46 mph	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
18 Jun 2005	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	1	—	County
3 Jan 2018	Winter Storm	Winter	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
17 Dec 2023	Flash Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	—	County
11 Sep 1960	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$2.5M	—	—	10	County
15 Jun 2005	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	—	5	Forecast zone
16 Jul 2017	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	4	County
26 Jul 1986	Tornado	Tornado	F0	$25K	—	—	3	County
24 Aug 1989	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	—	3	County
24 Aug 2006	Flash Flood	Flood	—	—	—	—	3	County
7 Jul 2018	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	3	County
29 Aug 1964	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$3K	—	—	2	County
4 Sep 2019	Tropical Storm	Tropical	—	—	—	—	2	Forecast zone

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
23 Jan 2026	EM-3632	Emergency	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
26 Sep 2024	EM-3619	Emergency	Tropical Storm	Hurricane Helene	Public assistance
5 Aug 2024	EM-3606	Emergency	Tropical Storm	Hurricane Debby	Public assistance
31 Aug 2023	EM-3597	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Idalia	Public assistance
21 Nov 2022	DR-4677	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Ian	Individual assistance, Public assistance
29 Sep 2022	EM-3585	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Ian	Public assistance
27 Mar 2020	DR-4492	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3470	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
30 Sep 2019	DR-4464	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Dorian	Public assistance
1 Sep 2019	EM-3421	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Dorian	Public assistance
16 Sep 2018	DR-4394	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Florence	Public assistance
10 Sep 2018	EM-3400	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Florence	Public assistance
16 Oct 2017	DR-4346	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Irma	Public assistance
7 Sep 2017	EM-3386	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Irma	Public assistance
11 Oct 2016	DR-4286	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Matthew	Individual assistance, Public assistance
6 Oct 2016	EM-3378	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Matthew	Public assistance
5 Oct 2015	DR-4241	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
3 Oct 2015	EM-3373	Emergency	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
12 Feb 2014	EM-3369	Emergency	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
10 Sep 2005	EM-3233	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
7 Oct 2004	DR-1566	Major disaster	Hurricane	Tropical Storm Frances	Individual assistance
15 Sep 2004	DR-1547	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Tropical Storm Gaston	Public assistance
31 Jan 2000	DR-1313	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
21 Sep 1999	DR-1299	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations	Individual assistance, Public assistance
15 Sep 1999	EM-3145	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Floyd Emergency Declarations	Public assistance
22 Sep 1989	DR-843	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Hugo	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Aug 1977	EM-3047	Emergency	Drought	Drought	Public assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Charleston County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 197819,289

Paid claims13,284

Total paid$312M

Average paid claim$24K

Repetitive-loss properties1,245177 severe

Residential policies in force46,85631.7% of 148,009 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2026	6	2	$8,468	$4,234
2025	24	10	$239,711	$23,971
2024	142	107	$2,960,249	$27,666
2023	295	219	$5,645,052	$25,776
2022	141	101	$2,675,892	$26,494
2021	41	28	$245,772	$8,778
2020	86	63	$1,107,548	$17,580
2019	63	27	$299,659	$11,098
2018	119	75	$1,604,774	$21,397
2017	1,578	1,355	$39,437,283	$29,105
2016	1,462	1,124	$33,889,059	$30,150
2015	2,111	1,498	$27,927,002	$18,643
2014	22	9	$89,194	$9,910
2013	55	29	$483,417	$16,670
2012	72	43	$1,163,434	$27,057
2011	22	7	$99,274	$14,182
2010	25	13	$94,558	$7,274
2009	54	40	$375,505	$9,388
2008	153	134	$3,657,645	$27,296
2007	15	7	$28,252	$4,036
2006	21	9	$143,169	$15,908
2005	79	59	$800,147	$13,562
2004	197	100	$1,256,566	$12,566
2003	19	8	$67,843	$8,480
2002	57	34	$456,052	$13,413

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskRelatively Highscore 98.6 of 100

Expected annual loss$500MRelatively High

Social vulnerabilityRelatively Low

Community resilienceVery High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Hurricane	Very High	$281,333,148
Earthquake	Relatively High	$117,992,986
Inland flooding	Relatively Moderate	$44,209,893
Coastal flooding	Very High	$35,634,176
Cold wave	Relatively Moderate	$6,594,707
Wildfire	Relatively Moderate	$3,077,857
Tornado	Relatively Moderate	$3,019,263
Heat wave	Relatively Moderate	$2,034,756
Ice storm	Relatively High	$1,751,870
Strong wind	Relatively Moderate	$1,690,189
Lightning	Relatively High	$1,656,890
Hail	Relatively Low	$451,339
Winter weather	Relatively Moderate	$301,004
Drought	Relatively Low	$50,004
Landslide	Very Low	$650

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

Tracks within 100 miles144

Tracks within 50 miles51

Hurricane strength within 50 miles17

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Chantal	2025	70 mi	58 mph
Debby	2024	24 mi	58 mph
Idalia	2023	56 mi	58 mph
Colin	2022	14 mi	40 mph
Ian	2022	55 mi	81 mph
Danny	2021	47 mi	46 mph
Bertha	2020	16 mi	52 mph
Isaias	2020	49 mi	92 mph
Eta	2020	62 mi	46 mph
Dorian	2019	61 mi	115 mph
Florence	2018	56 mi	63 mph
Bonnie	2016	82 mi	40 mph
Colin	2016	88 mi	52 mph
Hermine	2016	70 mi	58 mph
Julia	2016	63 mi	46 mph
Matthew	2016	21 mi	98 mph
Ana	2015	91 mi	52 mph
Arthur	2014	96 mi	92 mph
Andrea	2013	51 mi	46 mph
Alberto	2012	94 mi	52 mph
Beryl	2012	41 mi	46 mph
Cristobal	2008	72 mi	40 mph
Hanna	2008	78 mi	69 mph
Barry	2007	3 mi	46 mph
Ernesto	2006	76 mi	69 mph

HURDAT2 best-track positions at tropical-storm strength (34 kt) or more, measured from the county's Census centre point; through the 2025 season. Distance from a track is not the same as the extent of the storm's wind, rain or surge.

ZIP codes with flood claims

29401 3,216
29451 2,691
29412 2,459
29407 2,265
29464 1,784
29439 1,221
29414 1,210
29455 1,029
29403 995
29482 894
29405 325
29418 278
29466 205
29406 195
29458 105
29449 84
29429 82
29420 71
29426 41
29487 30
29402 29
29470 19
29400 9
29404 6
29417 5
29465 5
29494 5

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Charleston County, SC?

NCEI records 300 hail events in Charleston County since 1950, in 44 different years; that is about 3.9 recorded events a year. 38 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Charleston County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 61 tornadoes in Charleston County since 1950, 4 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Charleston County?

23 Jan 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a emergency declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 27 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Charleston County, and how much was paid?

19,289 NFIP claims since 1978, 13,284 of them paid, for $312M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Charleston County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Relatively High" for overall risk, "Relatively High" for expected annual loss, "Relatively Low" for social vulnerability and "Very High" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Charleston County compare with the rest of South Carolina?

209.3 recorded events per 100 square miles against 108.7 statewide, and 46.7 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 9.6. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 1 Oct 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.