6 flood insurance claims·$282,090 paid·7 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Allendale County, South Carolina. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Flash flooding from summer thunderstorms and tropical systems dominates the flood risk in Allendale County, supported by 12 flash flood events, 5 tropical storms, 1 tropical depression, and 1 hurricane recorded over the last 30 years. Recent impacts include major tropical systems such as Tropical Storm Helene in September 2024 and Tropical Storm Idalia in August 2023.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate distinct loss patterns across different zones. Zone A recorded 3 claims with an average payout of $4,422 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inches. Zone X also recorded 3 claims, resulting in a significantly higher average payout of $92,556 and an average recorded water depth of 66 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in both high-risk Special Flood Hazard Areas (Zone A) and moderate-to-low risk areas (Zone X) where severe, deeper flooding has resulted in substantial insurance claims.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 50 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 2015, with 2 claims and $0 paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
6 NOAA storm reports from Allendale County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the South Carolina flood stories →
25 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 7 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 21, 2026 |
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 25, 2024 |
| Hurricane Debby | Aug 4, 2024 |
| Hurricane Idalia | Aug 29, 2023 |
| Hurricane Ian | Sep 25, 2022 |
| Hurricane Dorian | Aug 31, 2019 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 8, 2018 |
| Hurricane Irma | Sep 6, 2017 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
19 since 1996: 12 flash floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm | Sep 26, 2024 | $936,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 30, 2023 | — |
| Tropical Depression | Sep 11, 2017 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 2, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 12, 2013 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 12, 2013 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 11, 2013 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 11, 2013 | $10,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Tropical Storm · Sep 26, 2024. Helene first developed into a tropical storm in the northwest Caribbean Sea in the late morning of September 24, and strengthened into a hurricane near the Yucatan peninsula about 24 hours later. Helene continued to strengthen and became a major hurricane as it moved to the north-northeast across the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Helene made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida in the late evening hours of Septemb…
Tropical Storm · Aug 30, 2023. Idalia first developed into a tropical depression across the western Caribbean Sea near the Yucatan Peninsula on August 26th before slowly gaining strength and becoming a tropical storm on August 27th. The storm then began to take a northward track the next day, passing the western tip of Cuba while gaining strength. On August 29th, Idalia was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane early in the morning, then intensifi…
Tropical Depression · Sep 11, 2017. Irma first developed into a tropical storm on August 30th about 420 miles west of the Cabo Verde Islands, and within 24 hours strengthened into a hurricane. Irma continued to intensify and became a major hurricane over the eastern Atlantic on September 1st. After undergoing a brief period of weakening on September 2nd, Irma once again strengthened into a major hurricane on September 3rd and maintained major hurr…
Tropical Storm · Sep 2, 2016. Hermine developed as a Tropical Depression near the north coast of Cuba on August 28th. The depression then tracked westward into the central Gulf of Mexico and strengthened into a Tropical Storm. Hermine then tracked generally northeastward and strengthened into a Hurricane. According to the National Hurricane Center, Hermine made landfall as a Category 1 Hurricane at 1:30 am EDT on September 2nd along the Florid…
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Allendale County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.