South Carolina Natural Disaster Risk by County
Of South Carolina's 46 counties, 0 have a Very High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025); the highest is Charleston County (score 98.6 of 100), and expected losses across the state total $3.0 billion a year.
OpenFEMA lists 49 federal disaster, emergency and fire management declarations for South Carolina since 1954 (not counting COVID-19); the latest is DR-4908-SC, Severe Winter Storm, declared 7 April 2026.
Live weather alerts for South Carolina Latest FEMA declarations All official warnings
Most exposed counties, hazard by hazard
Top 10 by FEMA hazard risk scoreHurricane 46 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charleston County | Very High | $281 million |
| 2 | Horry County | Very High | $200 million |
| 3 | Beaufort County | Very High | $201 million |
| 4 | Berkeley County | Very High | $116 million |
| 5 | Georgetown County | Very High | $64 million |
| 6 | Dorchester County | Relatively High | $84 million |
| 7 | Colleton County | Relatively High | $20 million |
| 8 | Dillon County | Relatively High | $20 million |
| 9 | Jasper County | Relatively High | $22 million |
| 10 | Florence County | Relatively High | $23 million |
Tornado 46 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lexington County | Relatively High | $24 million |
| 2 | York County | Relatively High | $23 million |
| 3 | Horry County | Relatively High | $14 million |
| 4 | Greenville County | Relatively High | $20 million |
| 5 | Richland County | Relatively High | $12 million |
| 6 | Florence County | Relatively High | $8.9 million |
| 7 | Anderson County | Relatively High | $7.8 million |
| 8 | Lancaster County | Relatively Moderate | $6.3 million |
| 9 | Spartanburg County | Relatively Moderate | $6.3 million |
| 10 | Aiken County | Relatively Moderate | $5.4 million |
Inland flooding 46 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greenville County | Relatively High | $104 million |
| 2 | Richland County | Relatively High | $74 million |
| 3 | Spartanburg County | Relatively Moderate | $53 million |
| 4 | Horry County | Relatively Moderate | $40 million |
| 5 | Lexington County | Relatively Moderate | $47 million |
| 6 | York County | Relatively Moderate | $51 million |
| 7 | Charleston County | Relatively Moderate | $44 million |
| 8 | Anderson County | Relatively Moderate | $33 million |
| 9 | Aiken County | Relatively Moderate | $23 million |
| 10 | Pickens County | Relatively Moderate | $23 million |
Coastal flooding 11 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charleston County | Very High | $36 million |
| 2 | Beaufort County | Relatively High | $9.8 million |
| 3 | Horry County | Relatively High | $4.0 million |
| 4 | Georgetown County | Relatively High | $3.1 million |
| 5 | Berkeley County | Relatively Moderate | $2.5 million |
| 6 | Colleton County | Relatively Moderate | $1.3 million |
| 7 | Dorchester County | Relatively Low | $542,334 |
| 8 | Jasper County | Relatively Low | $300,511 |
| 9 | Hampton County | Very Low | $841 |
| 10 | Williamsburg County | Very Low | $734 |
Wildfire 46 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charleston County | Relatively Moderate | $3.1 million |
| 2 | Georgetown County | Relatively Moderate | $1.2 million |
| 3 | Beaufort County | Relatively Moderate | $1.4 million |
| 4 | Horry County | Relatively Moderate | $1.1 million |
| 5 | Berkeley County | Relatively Moderate | $1.7 million |
| 6 | Williamsburg County | Relatively Low | $588,123 |
| 7 | Florence County | Relatively Low | $656,126 |
| 8 | Colleton County | Relatively Low | $369,011 |
| 9 | Aiken County | Relatively Low | $465,681 |
| 10 | Dillon County | Relatively Low | $310,065 |
Earthquake 46 rated
| # | County | Rating | Loss a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charleston County | Relatively High | $118 million |
| 2 | Dorchester County | Relatively Moderate | $58 million |
| 3 | Berkeley County | Relatively Moderate | $53 million |
| 4 | Horry County | Relatively Moderate | $15 million |
| 5 | Orangeburg County | Relatively Moderate | $11 million |
| 6 | Richland County | Relatively Moderate | $11 million |
| 7 | Colleton County | Relatively Moderate | $6.9 million |
| 8 | Beaufort County | Relatively Moderate | $9.8 million |
| 9 | Greenville County | Relatively Moderate | $9.5 million |
| 10 | Florence County | Relatively Moderate | $6.7 million |
Every South Carolina county, highest overall risk first
46| # | County | Overall risk | Score | Loss a year | Top hazard | Declarations | Tornadoes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charleston County | Relatively High | 98.6 | $500 million | Coastal flooding | 25 | 60 |
| 2 | Horry County | Relatively High | 98.2 | $290 million | Hurricane | 32 | 58 |
| 3 | Beaufort County | Relatively High | 97.1 | $256 million | Hurricane | 22 | 33 |
| 4 | Berkeley County | Relatively High | 94.8 | $214 million | Hurricane | 28 | 40 |
| 5 | Greenville County | Relatively Moderate | 94.0 | $169 million | Ice storm | 24 | 38 |
| 6 | Dorchester County | Relatively Moderate | 93.7 | $176 million | Earthquake | 24 | 22 |
| 7 | Richland County | Relatively Moderate | 93.1 | $138 million | Ice storm | 24 | 43 |
| 8 | Georgetown County | Relatively Moderate | 92.5 | $90 million | Hurricane | 28 | 24 |
| 9 | Lexington County | Relatively Moderate | 90.9 | $108 million | Tornado | 23 | 48 |
| 10 | Spartanburg County | Relatively Moderate | 90.6 | $89 million | Ice storm | 23 | 35 |
| 11 | Florence County | Relatively Moderate | 89.6 | $65 million | Hurricane | 26 | 35 |
| 12 | York County | Relatively Moderate | 88.7 | $99 million | Ice storm | 20 | 22 |
| 13 | Orangeburg County | Relatively Moderate | 87.7 | $44 million | Earthquake | 29 | 76 |
| 14 | Anderson County | Relatively Moderate | 87.2 | $67 million | Cold wave | 19 | 37 |
| 15 | Oconee County | Relatively Moderate | 85.6 | $45 million | Cold wave | 22 | 29 |
| 16 | Colleton County | Relatively Moderate | 85.5 | $38 million | Hurricane | 26 | 34 |
| 17 | Dillon County | Relatively Moderate | 84.3 | $35 million | Hurricane | 27 | 18 |
| 18 | Aiken County | Relatively Moderate | 84.2 | $48 million | Ice storm | 22 | 43 |
| 19 | Williamsburg County | Relatively Moderate | 82.1 | $30 million | Hurricane | 28 | 14 |
| 20 | Sumter County | Relatively Moderate | 81.7 | $41 million | Hurricane | 26 | 28 |
| 21 | Marion County | Relatively Low | 80.7 | $27 million | Hurricane | 26 | 12 |
| 22 | Lancaster County | Relatively Low | 79.4 | $40 million | Ice storm | 22 | 11 |
| 23 | Jasper County | Relatively Low | 78.6 | $29 million | Hurricane | 22 | 9 |
| 24 | Pickens County | Relatively Low | 77.6 | $37 million | Ice storm | 24 | 35 |
| 25 | Clarendon County | Relatively Low | 76.5 | $23 million | Hurricane | 24 | 38 |
| 26 | Laurens County | Relatively Low | 76.2 | $27 million | Cold wave | 21 | 25 |
| 27 | Chesterfield County | Relatively Low | 74.0 | $22 million | Hurricane | 24 | 23 |
| 28 | Greenwood County | Relatively Low | 72.7 | $27 million | Cold wave | 18 | 19 |
| 29 | Darlington County | Relatively Low | 72.3 | $22 million | Hurricane | 24 | 27 |
| 30 | Cherokee County | Relatively Low | 69.7 | $23 million | Ice storm | 22 | 18 |
| 31 | Kershaw County | Relatively Low | 66.7 | $23 million | Strong wind | 26 | 24 |
| 32 | Hampton County | Relatively Low | 64.8 | $15 million | Hurricane | 23 | 16 |
| 33 | Newberry County | Relatively Low | 62.0 | $17 million | Ice storm | 22 | 38 |
| 34 | Union County | Relatively Low | 58.2 | $13 million | Ice storm | 21 | 22 |
| 35 | Marlboro County | Relatively Low | 57.5 | $11 million | Ice storm | 24 | 12 |
| 36 | Bamberg County | Relatively Low | 46.5 | $9.3 million | Hurricane | 26 | 25 |
| 37 | Barnwell County | Relatively Low | 45.8 | $8.4 million | Hurricane | 25 | 25 |
| 38 | Abbeville County | Relatively Low | 45.4 | $10 million | Ice storm | 19 | 22 |
| 39 | Chester County | Relatively Low | 43.2 | $11 million | Ice storm | 21 | 17 |
| 40 | Fairfield County | Very Low | 40.8 | $8.5 million | Ice storm | 21 | 34 |
| 41 | Saluda County | Very Low | 40.1 | $8.2 million | Hurricane | 20 | 15 |
| 42 | Lee County | Very Low | 36.0 | $7.6 million | Hurricane | 23 | 10 |
| 43 | Allendale County | Very Low | 35.5 | $7.1 million | Hurricane | 23 | 19 |
| 44 | Calhoun County | Very Low | 22.6 | $6.1 million | Hurricane | 28 | 27 |
| 45 | Edgefield County | Very Low | 22.0 | $6.8 million | Hurricane | 20 | 19 |
| 46 | McCormick County | Very Low | 9.5 | $2.8 million | Hurricane | 19 | 15 |
Score: FEMA's national percentile (higher = more risk). Declarations: federal declarations that named the county since 1953, not counting COVID-19. Tornadoes: NOAA SPC tornadoes that touched the county, 1950–2025.
Latest federal declarations in South Carolina
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What this page shows, and what it misses
FEMA's National Risk Index compares every US county with every other for 18 natural hazards, combining expected losses with social vulnerability and community resilience. It is a planning-level estimate for nationwide comparison, not a flood-zone map and not the risk to any one property — for flood zones use FEMA's Flood Map Service Center ↗. Federal declarations exclude state declarations and SBA or USDA designations.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Risk Index Dataset: National Risk Index Counties - v1.20.0 (December 2025). Retrieved from https://services.arcgis.com/XG15cJAlne2vxtgt/ArcGIS/rest/services/National_Risk_Index_Counties/FeatureServer/0/query on November 2, 2026, 1:20 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), OpenFEMA Dataset: Disaster Declarations Summaries - v2, retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/api/open/v2/DisasterDeclarationsSummaries on November 2, 2026, 1:21 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Tornado records: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center, Severe Weather Database, tornadoes 1950–2025 (https://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/data/1950-2025_actual_tornadoes.csv, downloaded 2 November 2026). Public domain; not endorsed by NOAA. Compiled by Global Incident Tracker.
Questions about South Carolina
Which county in South Carolina has the highest natural disaster risk?
Of South Carolina's 46 counties, 0 have a Very High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025); the highest is Charleston County (score 98.6 of 100), and expected losses across the state total $3.0 billion a year.
Which South Carolina counties are most at risk from tornadoes?
By FEMA's National Risk Index tornado risk score: Lexington County, York County, Horry County. These are planning-level estimates for whole counties, not maps of individual properties.
Which South Carolina counties are most at risk from hurricanes?
By FEMA's National Risk Index hurricane risk score: Charleston County, Horry County, Beaufort County. These are planning-level estimates for whole counties, not maps of individual properties.
How many FEMA disaster declarations has South Carolina had?
OpenFEMA lists 49 federal disaster, emergency and fire management declarations for South Carolina since 1954 (not counting COVID-19); the latest is DR-4908-SC, Severe Winter Storm, declared 7 April 2026.