24 flood insurance claims·$418,164 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 Marlboro 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 dominates the local flood profile, driven by 14 flash flood events, 7 tropical storm events, and 3 general flood events over the last 30 years, resulting in 1 recorded death. Severe weather impacts are exemplified by Tropical Storm Debby in August 2024, which brought heavy tropical moisture inland after landfall in Florida and a secondary landfall on the South Carolina coast, triggering multiple flash flood and flood events across the area.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that risk extends across multiple zones, with Zone A recording 14 claims averaging an average water depth of 18 inches and an average payout of $20,199. Properties in Zone X accounted for 5 claims with an average water depth of 2 inches and an average payout of $14,575, while properties with an unknown zone designation recorded 5 claims with an average water depth of 1 inch and an average payout of $34,300. Homeowners and real estate agents in high-risk Zone A areas—where standing water reaches substantial depths during extreme weather—along with properties in unmapped or moderate-risk zones, should pay the closest attention to these potential flood impacts.
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 10 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 2018, with 13 claims and $287,741 paid, the year of Hurricane Florence.
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.
16 NOAA storm reports from Marlboro County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the South Carolina flood stories →
26 federal disaster declarations since 1984, 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 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Straight-line Winds | Apr 12, 2020 |
| Hurricane Dorian | Aug 31, 2019 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 8, 2018 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
24 since 1996: 14 flash floods and 3 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | $1,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 30, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 16, 2018 | $10,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 11, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 8, 2016 | $200,000 |
| Flash Flood | Oct 8, 2016 | $100,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Aug 8, 2024. After making landfall in the Big Bend area of Florida as a Category 1 hurricane on August 5, Debby weakened to a tropical storm as it slowly moved across southeastern Georgia and offshore before making another landfall along the central SC coast between Charleston and Georgetown. The storm then moved northwest to near the SC/NC border and weakened to a tropical depression on August 8 before quickly becoming a non-…
Flash Flood · Aug 8, 2024. After making landfall in the Big Bend area of Florida as a Category 1 hurricane on August 5, Debby weakened to a tropical storm as it slowly moved across southeastern Georgia and offshore before making another landfall along the central SC coast between Charleston and Georgetown. The storm then moved northwest to near the SC/NC border and weakened to a tropical depression on August 8 before quickly becoming a non-…
Tropical Storm · Sep 30, 2022. Hurricane Ian made landfall along the west coast of Florida on September 28, 2022, then moved across the Florida peninsula and exited off the east coast of Florida on September 29, 2022. Ian then moved north and made a second landfall near Georgetown, SC on September 30, 2022. Ian resulted in a variety of impacts across northeast South Carolina from tropical storm force winds to flash flooding, and storm surge.
Flash Flood · Sep 16, 2018. Hurricane Florence began its long Atlantic trek from the Cape Verde Islands in early September. It made landfall near Wrightsville Beach during the morning of September 14th. The barometric pressure at landfall was 959 millibars, or 28.32 inches.The strongest winds were recorded at 106 mph at Cape Lookout, as well as 105 mph measured at the Wilmington International Airport. In addition to the strong storm surge,…
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 Marlboro 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.