12,525 flood insurance claims·$336.9M paid·12 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 Horry 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 frequent severe weather dominates the flood character of Horry County, accounting for 105 events and 4 deaths over the last 30 years. Additional flood hazards include general floods, tropical storms, coastal floods, storm surges, and hurricanes. Recent occurrences include heavy rainfall and flash flooding from a coastal nor'easter tapping into tropical moisture in October 2025, as well as minor nuisance flooding and flash flooding from training thunderstorms in June 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones, with high impact outside of high-risk areas. Zone A leads with 8,360 claims averaging a $35,705 payout and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Zone X recorded 2,349 claims with an average payout of $43,814 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches, while Zone V recorded 1,226 claims averaging a $46,110 payout and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Zone X_SHADED recorded 317 claims with an average payout of $49,006 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches, and Zone X_UNSHADED logged 177 claims averaging an $18,651 payout and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located in high-risk coastal and riverine areas (Zones A and V), as well as those in moderate-to-low risk zones (Zone X and shaded/unshaded X variants) where significant payouts and standing water depths still occur.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
5% of Horry County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
10,080 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 5 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 1989, with 3,286 claims and $118.2M paid, the year of Hurricane Hugo.
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.
66 NOAA storm reports from Horry County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the South Carolina flood stories →
34 federal disaster declarations since 1989, 12 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 21, 2026 |
| Covington Drive Fire | Mar 1, 2025 |
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 25, 2024 |
| Hurricane Debby | Aug 4, 2024 |
| Tropical Storm Debby | Aug 4, 2024 |
| Hurricane Idalia | Aug 29, 2023 |
| Hurricane Ian | Sep 25, 2022 |
| Hurricane Dorian | Aug 31, 2019 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
166 since 1996: 105 flash floods, 32 river or area floods and 12 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Oct 12, 2025 | $3,000 |
| Flash Flood | Oct 12, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 11, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Aug 11, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 5, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 7, 2024 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 7, 2024 | $1,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Oct 12, 2025. A nor'easter developed off the South Carolina coast. The low was able to tap into tropical moisture leading to very heavy rain and flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Aug 11, 2025. Record high levels of moisture paired with a mid level disturbance produce corridors of heavy rainfall and flooding.
Flood · Aug 11, 2025. Record high levels of moisture paired with a mid level disturbance produce corridors of heavy rainfall and flooding.
Flash Flood · Jun 5, 2025. Thunderstorms training over the same area led to mostly minor/nuisance flooding and one instance of flash flooding in SC.
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 Horry 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.