43 flood insurance claims·$540,011 paid·8 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 Clarendon 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 tropical storms dominate the local flood risk profile in Clarendon County, with the NOAA Storm Events Database recording 19 flash flood events and 6 tropical storm events over the last 30 years. Recent impacts are tied directly to major regional tropical systems, including heavy rainfall and flash flooding from Tropical Storm Debby in August 2024, significant wind and storm effects from Tropical Storm Helene in September 2024, and scattered flooding from Tropical Storm Idalia in August 2023.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate claims extend across multiple zones, showing that flood risk is not strictly confined to designated high-risk areas. Properties located in Zone A account for 20 claims with an average payout of $17,497 and an average recorded water depth of 17 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X account for 18 claims with an average payout of $18,940 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches, while an additional 5 claims were filed under an unknown zone with an average payout of $10,345 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated within designated Zone A due to the greater average water depths experienced during floods, while recognizing that moderate or lower-risk Zone X properties also face verified, damaging flood claims during severe weather events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Clarendon County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
20 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 12 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 23 claims and $283,629 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.
7 NOAA storm reports from Clarendon County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the South Carolina flood stories →
26 federal disaster declarations since 1989, 8 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.
25 since 1996: 19 flash floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm | Sep 27, 2024 | $200,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 7, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 30, 2023 | $20,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 30, 2023 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 30, 2022 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 5, 2019 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 11, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 8, 2016 | $5,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Tropical Storm · Sep 27, 2024. Tropical Storm Helene formed in the NW Caribbean Sea on September 24. Helene moved northward into the Gulf of Mexico where it strengthened into a hurricane on September 25. Helene made landfall as a major hurricane in the Big Bend area of Florida the night of September 26 before quickly moving inland into east central Georgia by early morning on September 27. Helene weakened to a strong tropical storm and produced…
Flash Flood · Aug 7, 2024. Heavy rainfall associated with Tropical Storm Debby occurred across South Carolina for several days resulting in areas of flash flooding. There was also an isolated severe thunderstorm on the 6th.
Flash Flood · Aug 30, 2023. Lifting up out of the Big Bend of Florida, Hurricane Idalia weakened to a Tropical Storm as it moved out of southeastern Georgia. The tropical system then moved northeast along the coastal plain of South Carolina. This system produced scattered tree damage, some flooding and one confirmed tornado.
Tropical Storm · Aug 30, 2023. Lifting up out of the Big Bend of Florida, Hurricane Idalia weakened to a Tropical Storm as it moved out of southeastern Georgia. The tropical system then moved northeast along the coastal plain of South Carolina. This system produced scattered tree damage, some flooding and one confirmed tornado.
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 Clarendon 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.