Colleton County, South Carolina: Natural Disaster Risk and History
Colleton County, South Carolina has a Relatively Moderate natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 85.5 out of 100, higher than about 85% of US counties, with hurricanes, earthquakes and wildfires scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $38 million a year in expected losses.
OpenFEMA lists 26 federal disaster declarations that included Colleton County since 1989, 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 34 tornadoes touching Colleton County from 1950 to 2025.
Live weather alerts for South Carolina All official warnings Latest FEMA declarations
Population 38,512 Buildings worth $8.8 billion Area 1,145 sq mi Risk rank in South Carolina 16 of 46 FIPS 45029
All 18 hazards, highest risk first
FEMA National Risk Index| Hazard | Risk rating | Score | Expected loss a year | How often | Events in record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricane | Relatively High | 96.4 | $20 million | about once every 3.3 years | 118 |
| Earthquake | Relatively Moderate | 93.7 | $6.9 million | about once every 189 years | — |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | 82.8 | $369,011 | about once every 709 years | — |
| Coastal flooding | Relatively Moderate | 78.2 | $1.3 million | about 3.6 a year | — |
| Heat wave | Relatively Low | 74.2 | $739,204 | about 9.1 a year | 144 |
| Strong wind | Relatively Moderate | 68.2 | $613,364 | about 2.6 a year | 95 |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | 63.5 | $257,201 | about 66 a year | 141,267 strikes |
| Ice storm | Relatively Moderate | 63.0 | $101,251 | about once a year | 63 |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | 60.6 | $1.2 million | about once every 1.7 years | 24 |
| Inland flooding | Relatively Low | 56.4 | $5.3 million | about once every 1.6 years | 17 |
| Cold wave | Relatively Low | 50.9 | $657,316 | about once every 1.5 years | 12 |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 49.4 | $92,737 | about 22 a year | 651 |
| Winter weather | Relatively Low | 48.2 | $39,973 | about 1.1 a year | 19 |
| Hail | Very Low | 31.8 | $86,132 | about 2.9 a year | 113 |
| Landslide | Very Low | 19.5 | $73 | about once every 4.3 years | — |
| 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 26
Most common: Hurricane 16, Tropical Storm 3, Severe Storm 3, Severe Ice Storm 2.
| Decade | Declarations | Incident types |
|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 1 | Hurricane |
| 1990s | 2 | Hurricane ×2 |
| 2000s | 2 | Hurricane, Severe Storm |
| 2010s | 12 | Hurricane ×8, Severe Ice Storm ×2, Flood, Severe Storm |
| 2020s | 9 | Hurricane ×4, Tropical Storm ×3, Winter Storm, Severe Storm |
The last 10
Widest declarations that included Colleton 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: Tropical Storm Debby (2024), 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), 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 34
| Tornadoes touching the county | 34 |
|---|---|
| Strongest-rated | (E)F2 ×2 |
| Peak month | April (11) |
| Deadliest | 3 Sep 1998, F2, 18 mi path, 1 killed, 4 injured |
| Longest path | 3 Sep 1998, F2, 18 mi path, 1 killed, 4 injured |
| Most recent | 26 Sep 2024, EF1, 7.8 mi path |
| Deaths / injuries on those paths | 1 / 15 |
| Rating | (E)F0 | (E)F1 | (E)F2 | (E)F3 | (E)F4 | (E)F5 | Unrated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 8 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Decade | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 10 |
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 Colleton County compares with its 5 nearest counties
| County | Distance | Overall risk | Score | Top hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colleton County (this page) | — | Relatively Moderate | 85.5 | Hurricane |
| Dorchester County | 34 km | Relatively Moderate | 93.7 | Earthquake |
| Hampton County | 45 km | Relatively Low | 64.8 | Hurricane |
| Bamberg County | 53 km | Relatively Low | 46.5 | Hurricane |
| Beaufort County | 54 km | Relatively High | 97.1 | Hurricane |
| Jasper County | 59 km | Relatively Low | 78.6 | Hurricane |
Nearest by distance between county centres. Every county in South Carolina, ranked.
Vulnerability and resilience
| Social vulnerability | Very High 90.0 |
|---|---|
| Community resilience | Relatively Moderate 45.2 |
| Community risk factor | 1.57 |
| Expected annual loss, all hazards | $38 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 Colleton County's main hazards
- Right now: National Weather Service alerts for South Carolina · all official warnings on Global Incident Tracker.
- Hurricane: Is there a hurricane now? · Cyclone preparation
- Earthquake: Earthquakes today · Earthquake safety guide
- Wildfire: US wildfires now · Wildfire smoke: what protects you
- 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 Colleton County
What natural disasters is Colleton County, South Carolina most at risk from?
Colleton County, South Carolina has a Relatively Moderate natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 85.5 out of 100, higher than about 85% of US counties, with hurricanes, earthquakes and wildfires scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $38 million a year in expected losses.
How many federal disaster declarations has Colleton County had?
OpenFEMA lists 26 federal disaster declarations that included Colleton County since 1989, 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 Colleton County?
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 34 tornadoes touching Colleton County from 1950 to 2025. The deadliest: 3 Sep 1998, F2, 18 mi path, 1 killed, 4 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.