County Hazards

States › South Carolina

South Carolina

The recorded hazard history of every county in South Carolina: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, and National Flood Insurance Program claims since 1978.

South Carolina has 32,670 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950 across 46 counties, led by damaging wind: 108.7 per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally.

NCEI attributes 288 deaths and 2,123 injuries to those events, with property damage estimated at $1.9B. By events per 100 square miles the leading counties are Charleston, Richland and Lexington.

FEMA lists 51 disaster declarations touching the state since 1953, most recently Severe Winter Storm (7 Apr 2026). NFIP policyholders filed 49,622 flood claims since 1978, $1.0B paid; 121,413 residential policies are in force.

677events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026
32,670events since 1950108.7 per 100 sq mi (US 56.0)
51disaster declarations since 1953last 7 Apr 2026
49,622NFIP flood claims$1.0B paid

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. Storm records through 30 Jun 2026; declarations refreshed 29 Sep 2026; claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Compared with the United States

MeasureSouth CarolinaUS
Recorded events since 195032,6701,977,440
Events per 100 square miles108.756.0
Events per 10,000 residents62.959.6
Deaths recorded by NCEI28826,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)$1.9B$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents9.68.1
Average paid NFIP claim$30K$43K
Residential flood policies in force121,4133,139,862

Hazard mix

Wind17,517
Hail6,692
Flood2,557
Winter1,839
Tornado1,319
Drought831
Tropical534
Lightning516
Other371
Cold223
Heat186
Fog61
Wildfire24
HazardEventsShare of USDeaths
■ Wind17,5172.5%51
■ Hail6,6921.6%—
■ Flood2,5571.4%31
■ Winter1,8390.6%11
■ Tornado1,3191.6%67
■ Drought8311.0%—
■ Tropical5344.8%43
■ Lightning5162.8%22
■ Other3710.8%5
■ Cold2230.4%22
■ Heat1860.3%35
■ Fog610.3%1
■ Wildfire240.3%—

Events by decade

Hail: 20Tornado: 41Wind: 50
Hail: 60Tornado: 118Wind: 132
Hail: 91Tornado: 104Wind: 359
Hail: 380Tornado: 98Wind: 966
Hail: 1216Tornado: 245Flood: 162Wind: 2227Winter: 245Tropical: 38Heat: 44Cold: 44Drought: 125Wildfire: 1Lightning: 102Fog: 50Other: 23
Hail: 2420Tornado: 314Flood: 554Wind: 3972Winter: 631Tropical: 72Heat: 34Cold: 63Drought: 631Wildfire: 3Lightning: 188Fog: 8Other: 143
Hail: 1844Tornado: 179Flood: 1086Wind: 6361Winter: 665Tropical: 259Heat: 102Cold: 54Drought: 41Wildfire: 14Lightning: 138Other: 170
Hail: 661Tornado: 220Flood: 755Wind: 3450Winter: 298Tropical: 165Heat: 6Cold: 62Drought: 34Wildfire: 6Lightning: 88Fog: 3Other: 35
1111950s3101960s5541970s1,4441980s4,5221990s9,0332000s10,9132010s5,7832020s
Recorded events in South Carolina by decade and hazard group, including events recorded by forecast zone. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterTropicalHeatColdDroughtWildfireLightningFogOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Counties by events per 100 square miles

CountyEventsLast 12 moPer 100 sq miPer 10k residentsDominantTornadoesHailDeclarationsNFIP claimsNRI risk
Charleston County1,921118209.346.5Wind613002719,289Relatively High
Richland County1,51226199.736.1Wind43231261,360Relatively Moderate
Lexington County1,35227193.445.0Wind4930325693Relatively Moderate
Beaufort County1,02940178.653.7Wind31134244,968Relatively High
Dorchester County95723168.358.6Wind2218526779Relatively Moderate
Spartanburg County1,2569155.437.4Wind3534925158Relatively Moderate
Greenville County1,1815150.322.1Wind3742926857Relatively Moderate
Cherokee County5688144.5101.3Wind19119246Relatively Low
Anderson County1,01610142.349.1Wind382262139Relatively Moderate
Greenwood County5359117.477.3Wind201102043Relatively Low
Pickens County5794116.543.8Wind351712663Relatively Low
Colleton County1,18336112.0307.6Wind3412528766Relatively Moderate
York County7569111.026.2Wind251782277Relatively Moderate
Darlington County5952106.194.8Wind2811626109Relatively Low
Sumter County70310105.767.1Wind2813828292Relatively Moderate
Lancaster County5577101.455.5Wind131342434Relatively Low
Newberry County63315100.4166.6Wind401122439Relatively Low
Oconee County617798.577.9Wind312092424Relatively Moderate
Laurens County6711194.199.0Wind241432320Relatively Low
Berkeley County1,0331493.643.6Wind3933630619Relatively High
Horry County1,0592193.429.0Wind603473412,525Relatively High
Calhoun County355293.1250.6Wind2883305Very Low
Union County473992.1175.1Wind2296231Relatively Low
Jasper County5881589.7193.9Wind105024113Relatively Low
Orangeburg County956686.4115.2Wind7520731122Relatively Moderate
Florence County686785.750.3Wind3515128399Relatively Moderate
Hampton County4771085.2262.4Wind17502520Relatively Low
Clarendon County505583.2162.8Wind381162643Relatively Low
Aiken County8862982.851.9Wind442072442Relatively Moderate
Marlboro County382279.6144.8Wind15612624Relatively Low
Abbeville County387678.8159.3Wind2274212Relatively Low
Saluda County355778.4188.6Wind17762211Very Low
Dillon County315377.8112.2Wind197029102Relatively Moderate
Allendale County315977.2400.9Wind2035256Very Low
Bamberg County299376.0226.7Wind26682833Relatively Low
Kershaw County547875.382.7Wind2413028122Relatively Low
Chester County433874.6134.4Wind1994238Relatively Low
Marion County364474.4126.5Wind127728492Relatively Low
McCormick County251769.9257.2Wind1650212Very Low
Edgefield County345568.9131.9Wind21802218Very Low
Fairfield County472468.8228.1Wind33882375Very Low
Lee County268365.3164.6Wind10612516Very Low
Chesterfield County512564.1118.3Wind221262613Relatively Low
Barnwell County337161.5163.8Wind2567276Relatively Low
Georgetown County424552.166.3Wind2397304,748Relatively Moderate
Williamsburg County308233.0101.0Wind147930118Relatively Moderate

Events are county-recorded plus zone-recorded events whose zone is named for the county. NRI risk is FEMA's National Risk Index overall rating (December 2025).

Counties by flood claims per 100 policies in force

CountyClaims, last 10 yearsPolicies in forceClaims per 100 policiesClaims since 1978Paid
Marion County282277101.8492$22M
Spartanburg County6522429.0158$2.6M
Greenville County2711,01326.8857$15M
Kershaw County6027521.8122$973K
Orangeburg County3818720.3122$3.5M
Fairfield County3317518.975$964K
Pickens County2112816.463$1.7M
Florence County6443214.8399$7.0M
Georgetown County8095,65514.34,748$115M
Anderson County1611813.639$927K
Horry County2,26320,38811.112,525$338M
Sumter County5751211.1292$7.7M
Lancaster County151559.734$514K
Colleton County1421,5839.0766$7.2M
York County243836.377$651K

Counties with at least 100 residential policies in force. Claims by year of loss in the ten years to 2026, divided by residential policies in force as of 3 Aug 2026; a rough ratio, since policies in force today differ from those in force when the losses occurred.

Federal disaster declarations by year

195319902026
Declarations touching South Carolina by year declared, 1953 to 2026; each disaster number counted once.
Incident typeDeclarations
Hurricane21
Fire7
Severe Storm5
Severe Ice Storm5
Flood4
Tropical Storm3
Winter Storm2
Biological2
Tornado1
Drought1

Most recent declarations (each disaster number once, with the number of counties designated):

DeclaredNumberTypeIncidentTitleCounties
7 Apr 2026DR-4908Major disasterWinter StormSevere Winter Storm3
23 Jan 2026EM-3632EmergencyWinter StormSevere Winter Storm46
23 Mar 2025FM-5576Fire management assistanceFireTable Rock Fire Complex2
23 Mar 2025FM-5575Fire management assistanceFireTable Rock Fire1
7 Mar 2025FM-5554Fire management assistanceFireCovington Drive Fire1
10 Jan 2025DR-4858Major disasterFloodSevere Storms And Flooding3
29 Sep 2024DR-4835Major disasterTropical StormTropical Storm Debby14
29 Sep 2024DR-4829Major disasterHurricaneHurricane Helene33
26 Sep 2024EM-3619EmergencyTropical StormHurricane Helene46
5 Aug 2024EM-3606EmergencyTropical StormHurricane Debby46
31 Aug 2023EM-3597EmergencyHurricaneHurricane Idalia46
21 Nov 2022DR-4677Major disasterHurricaneHurricane Ian46
29 Sep 2022EM-3585EmergencyHurricaneHurricane Ian46
1 May 2020DR-4542Major disasterSevere StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, And Straight-Line Winds10
27 Mar 2020DR-4492Major disasterBiologicalCovid-19 Pandemic46

Flood insurance claims by year

197820022026
NFIP claims in South Carolina by year of loss, 1978 to 2026.

49,622 claims, 34,826 paid, $1.0B in total; 3,817 repetitive-loss and 505 severe repetitive-loss properties. ZIP codes in South Carolina with flood claims (225).

Year by year

Each year's events, declarations and claims: 2026 · 2025 · 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019 · 2018 · 2017 · 2016 · 2015 · 2014 · 2013 · 2012 · 2011 · 2010 · 2009 · 2008 · 2007 · 2006 · 2005 · 2004 · 2003 · 2002 · 2001 · 2000 · 1999 · 1998 · 1997 · and earlier years back to 1950

Questions and answers

Which South Carolina counties have the most recorded tornadoes?

Orangeburg (75), Charleston (61) and Horry (60), by NCEI count since 1950. Larger counties record more events; the state table also ranks by events per 100 square miles.

Which South Carolina counties have the most flood insurance claims?

Charleston (19,289), Horry (12,525) and Beaufort (4,968) since 1978, in the OpenFEMA NFIP claims file.

How many federal disaster declarations has South Carolina had?

51 declarations since 1953 (major disaster, emergency and fire management assistance declarations combined), 2 of them in 2026 so far.

How does South Carolina compare with the national rate?

108.7 recorded events per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally; 9.6 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 8.1.

Provenance

NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 refreshed 29 Sep 2026; OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026); FEMA National Risk Index December 2025; US Census Bureau 2021 population and area. Built 30 Sep 2026. Methodology.