Charleston County, South Carolina: Natural Disaster Risk and History
Charleston County, South Carolina has a Relatively High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 98.6 out of 100, higher than about 98% of US counties, with coastal flooding, hurricanes and earthquakes scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $500 million a year in expected losses.
OpenFEMA lists 25 federal disaster declarations that included Charleston County since 1977, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is EM-3632-SC (Severe Winter Storm, declared 23 January 2026). NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 60 tornadoes touching Charleston County from 1950 to 2025.
Live weather alerts for South Carolina All official warnings Latest FEMA declarations
Population 407,722 Buildings worth $97 billion Area 1,372 sq mi Risk rank in South Carolina 1 of 46 FIPS 45019
All 18 hazards, highest risk first
FEMA National Risk Index| Hazard | Risk rating | Score | Expected loss a year | How often | Events in record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coastal flooding | Very High | 99.8 | $36 million | about 3.7 a year | — |
| Hurricane | Very High | 99.6 | $281 million | about once every 3.0 years | 126 |
| Earthquake | Relatively High | 98.8 | $118 million | about once every 159 years | — |
| Ice storm | Relatively High | 94.5 | $1.8 million | about once every 1.1 years | 47 |
| Wildfire | Relatively Moderate | 93.9 | $3.1 million | about once every 442 years | — |
| Lightning | Relatively High | 92.6 | $1.7 million | about 63 a year | 723,498 strikes |
| Inland flooding | Relatively Moderate | 89.9 | $44 million | about 3.5 a year | 99 |
| Cold wave | Relatively Moderate | 87.1 | $6.6 million | about once every 1.3 years | 15 |
| Winter weather | Relatively Moderate | 84.2 | $301,004 | about once every 1.1 years | 18 |
| Heat wave | Relatively Moderate | 82.7 | $2.0 million | about 9.6 a year | 161 |
| Strong wind | Relatively Moderate | 82.5 | $1.7 million | about 1.6 a year | 48 |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | 71.0 | $3.0 million | about once every 2.0 years | 40 |
| Hail | Relatively Low | 60.9 | $451,339 | about 2.2 a year | 93 |
| Landslide | Very Low | 37.7 | $650 | about once every 4.9 years | — |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 35.4 | $50,004 | about 15 a year | 546 |
| Avalanche | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Tsunami | Insufficient Data | — | — | — | — |
| Volcanic activity | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
Score: FEMA's percentile among US counties that face the hazard (higher = more risk). Expected loss: FEMA's modelled average yearly loss to buildings, people (as a statistical value) and crops. How often: FEMA's annualised frequency of the hazard in the county; for some hazards it counts event-days, so it is a rough guide, not a forecast. "Not Applicable" means FEMA does not model that hazard here.
Federal disaster declarations 25
Most common: Hurricane 16, Severe Storm 3, Tropical Storm 2, Winter Storm 1.
| Decade | Declarations | Incident types |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1 | Drought |
| 1980s | 1 | Hurricane |
| 1990s | 2 | Hurricane ×2 |
| 2000s | 4 | Hurricane ×2, Severe Storm ×2 |
| 2010s | 11 | Hurricane ×8, Flood, Severe Storm, Severe Ice Storm |
| 2020s | 6 | Hurricane ×3, Tropical Storm ×2, Winter Storm |
The last 10
Widest declarations that included Charleston County
- Severe Winter Storm (2026, EM-3632-SC): 46 South Carolina counties designated.
- Hurricane Helene (2024, EM-3619-SC): 46 South Carolina counties designated.
- Hurricane Debby (2024, EM-3606-SC): 46 South Carolina counties designated.
Named storms in its declarations: Hurricane Helene (2024), Hurricane Debby (2024), Hurricane Idalia (2023), Hurricane Ian (2022), Hurricane Dorian (2019), Hurricane Florence (2018), Hurricane Irma (2017), Hurricane Matthew (2016), Hurricane Katrina (2005), Tropical Storm Frances (2004), Tropical Storm Gaston (2004), Hurricane Floyd (1999), Hurricane Hugo (1989).
Not counted above: 2 COVID-19 ("Biological") declarations — in 2020 every US county was included. South Carolina also had 2 statewide declarations with no county list.
Tornado record since 1950 60
| Tornadoes touching the county | 60 |
|---|---|
| Strongest-rated | (E)F3 ×1 |
| Peak month | September (15) |
| Deadliest | 11 Sep 1960, F3, 8.8 mi path, 0 killed, 10 injured |
| Longest path | 11 May 2008, EF2, 12 mi path |
| Most recent | 27 Sep 2024, EF0, 2 mi path |
| Deaths / injuries on those paths | 0 / 17 |
| Rating | (E)F0 | (E)F1 | (E)F2 | (E)F3 | (E)F4 | (E)F5 | Unrated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 31 | 25 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Decade | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 1 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 18 | 7 | 15 |
Deaths and injuries are for each tornado's whole path, which can run beyond this county. F-scale ratings before February 2007, Enhanced Fujita (EF) after.
How Charleston County compares with its 5 nearest counties
| County | Distance | Overall risk | Score | Top hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charleston County (this page) | — | Relatively High | 98.6 | Coastal flooding |
| Berkeley County | 40 km | Relatively High | 94.8 | Hurricane |
| Dorchester County | 50 km | Relatively Moderate | 93.7 | Earthquake |
| Colleton County | 66 km | Relatively Moderate | 85.5 | Hurricane |
| Beaufort County | 88 km | Relatively High | 97.1 | Hurricane |
| Georgetown County | 89 km | Relatively Moderate | 92.5 | Hurricane |
Nearest by distance between county centres. Every county in South Carolina, ranked.
Vulnerability and resilience
| Social vulnerability | Relatively Low 22.4 |
|---|---|
| Community resilience | Very High 96.1 |
| Community risk factor | 0.90 |
| Expected annual loss, all hazards | $500 million |
FEMA scales expected losses up where social vulnerability is high (people who may find it harder to prepare, evacuate or recover) and down where community resilience is high. A factor above 1 raises the risk score. For social vulnerability a high rating is worse; for resilience a high rating is better.
Prepare for Charleston County's main hazards
- Right now: National Weather Service alerts for South Carolina · all official warnings on Global Incident Tracker.
- Coastal flooding: Flood safety: why shallow water kills · Hurricanes and storms now
- Hurricane: Is there a hurricane now? · Cyclone preparation
- Earthquake: Earthquakes today · Earthquake safety guide
- Your property's flood zone: FEMA Flood Map Service Center ↗ — this page cannot tell you that.
- Official preparedness guidance: Ready.gov ↗ and your county emergency management office.
What this page shows, and what it misses
FEMA's National Risk Index rates a whole county against every other US county; it is a planning-level estimate for nationwide comparison, not a flood-zone map and not a substitute for a local risk assessment or the risk to one home. Declarations are presidential disaster, emergency and fire management declarations that named this county; state declarations and SBA or USDA designations are not included. Tornadoes are counted when the county is one of up to four listed on the track; 670 tornadoes that crossed a state line carry no county list in NOAA's file and are left out.
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 Charleston County
What natural disasters is Charleston County, South Carolina most at risk from?
Charleston County, South Carolina has a Relatively High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 98.6 out of 100, higher than about 98% of US counties, with coastal flooding, hurricanes and earthquakes scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $500 million a year in expected losses.
How many federal disaster declarations has Charleston County had?
OpenFEMA lists 25 federal disaster declarations that included Charleston County since 1977, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is EM-3632-SC (Severe Winter Storm, declared 23 January 2026). Another 2 South Carolina declarations were made statewide without a county list.
How many tornadoes have hit Charleston County?
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 60 tornadoes touching Charleston County from 1950 to 2025. The deadliest: 11 Sep 1960, F3, 8.8 mi path, 0 killed, 10 injured (deaths and injuries are for the whole path).
Is the National Risk Index a flood zone map?
No. The National Risk Index is a planning-level estimate for a whole county, built for nationwide comparison. It does not tell you the flood zone or the risk of a single property: for that, look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center (msc.fema.gov) and ask your local floodplain manager.