39 flood insurance claims·$927,192 paid·4 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 Anderson 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 and standard flooding from severe weather and tropical systems dominate the flood risk profile in Anderson County, South Carolina. According to NOAA Storm Events Database records from the last 30 years, the county experienced 43 flash flood events resulting in 1 death, 16 flood events, and 2 tropical storm events resulting in 2 deaths.
Recent events illustrate these risks. On September 27, 2024, Tropical Cyclone Helene interacted with a slow-moving cold front to produce heavy rainfall and flash flooding. Earlier, on January 9, 2024, a major frontal system dropped 3 to 5 inches of rain in approximately 12 hours, causing widespread flooding. Additionally, a slow-moving low-pressure system on October 7, 2021, produced torrential rainfall rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour and totals of 3 to 7 inches, triggering flash floods.
NFIP claims data demonstrates that property damage occurs across multiple zones. Properties in Zone X recorded 21 claims with an average payout of $17,903 and an average water depth of 18 inches. Zone A properties recorded 15 claims with an average payout of $55,257 and an average water depth of 23 inches. Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 2 claims with an average payout of $9,814 and an average water depth of 1 inch. Zone V recorded 1 claim with an average payout of $5,209 and an average water depth of 2 inches. Residents in both designated high-risk zones like Zone A and moderate-to-low risk zones like Zone X should pay close attention to these flood hazards.
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 19 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 2020, with 6 claims and $103,073 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, 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.
14 NOAA storm reports from Anderson County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the South Carolina flood stories →
21 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 4 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 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Feb 6, 2020 |
| Hurricane Dorian | Aug 31, 2019 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 8, 2018 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
61 since 1996: 43 flash floods and 16 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Sep 27, 2024 | $300,000 · 1 killed |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 27, 2024 | $7.0M · 2 killed |
| Flood | Jan 9, 2024 | $1,000 |
| Flood | Oct 7, 2021 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Oct 7, 2021 | $50,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 29, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 20, 2020 | $1,000 |
| Flood | Feb 6, 2020 | $500,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Sep 27, 2024. Tropical Cyclone Helene began organizing over the western Caribbean on the 23rd and 24th of September before rapidly intensifying as it moved north through the eastern Gulf of Mexico on the 25th and 26th. A plume of moisture extending from the intensifying storm interacted with a slow-moving cold front to produce a band of widespread heavy rain showers and embedded scattered thunderstorms over the southern Appalac…
Tropical Storm · Sep 27, 2024. Tropical Cyclone Helene began organizing over the western Caribbean on the 23rd and 24th of September before rapidly intensifying as it moved north through the eastern Gulf of Mexico on the 25th and 26th. A plume of moisture extending from the intensifying storm interacted with a slow-moving cold front to produce a band of widespread heavy rain showers and embedded scattered thunderstorms over the southern Appalac…
Flood · Jan 9, 2024. A major/complex frontal system brought widespread rain with embedded thunderstorms to upstate South Carolina, mainly during the late morning and afternoon of the 9th. Widespread rainfall amounts of 3 to 5 inches (with locally higher amounts) in around 12 hours resulted in numerous reports of flooding. Isolated severe thunderstorms also resulted in a a few damaging wind gusts reports over the Piedmont.
Flood · Oct 7, 2021. A slow moving area of upper level low pressure over the Mid-Mississippi Valley pumped semi-tropical weather into the western Carolinas for a couple of days, resulting in occasional rounds of moderate to heavy in the day leading up to the 7th. Scattered slow-moving thunderstorm clusters developed during the morning of the 7th, producing torrential rainfall rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour and total rainfall amounts…
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 Anderson 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.