39 flood insurance claims·$281,310 paid·5 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 Newberry 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 heavy summer thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Newberry County. According to NOAA records from the last 30 years, flash floods occurred 10 times, alongside 4 tropical storm events and 2 general floods. Tropical storms resulted in 5 deaths during this period. For example, high precipitable water and training thunderstorms caused localized flash flooding in the greater Newberry area on July 25, 2024. Additionally, Tropical Storm Helene tracked inland on September 27, 2024, bringing significant wind and weather impacts.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that property damage occurs across multiple zones, with varying severity. Zone A recorded 24 claims with an average payout of $11,764 and an average recorded water depth of 10 inches. Unshaded Zone X properties experienced 11 claims averaging $70,98 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches, while standard Zone X areas recorded 4 claims averaging $4,968 with an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone A should pay the most attention to flood risk, followed by properties in unshaded Zone X areas where moderate water depths have resulted in insurance claims.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
31% of Newberry County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
35 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 9 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 1986, with 8 claims and $67,629 paid.
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 Newberry County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the South Carolina flood stories →
24 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 5 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.
16 since 1996: 10 flash floods and 2 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 12, 2025 | $5,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 27, 2024 | $19.2M · 5 killed |
| Flash Flood | Jul 25, 2024 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 30, 2022 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 15, 2018 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Oct 10, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Dec 30, 2015 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Dec 30, 2015 | $3,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 12, 2025. Showers and isolated thunderstorms developed along the western edge of a surface ridge, along an area of low level convergence. High deep layer moisture, with precipitable water around 2.2 inches, and weak storm motion led to flash flooding developing in portions of Newberry County.
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 · Jul 25, 2024. The highly favorable flash flooding environment continued for another day on 7-25 with high precipitable water over 2.25 inches, parallel deep layer shear to the low level moisture convergence boundary, and moderate instability aloft. High rainfall rates exceeding 2 inches per hour and a series of training thunderstorms caused localized flash flood in the greater Newberry area.
Tropical Storm · Sep 30, 2022. Ian first formed as Tropical Depression Nine in the Caribbean Sea on September 23,|2022. It moved west and northwest into the Western Caribbean and strengthened|into a hurricane. The cyclone turned to the north and crossed over the western tip|of Cuba on September 27th.||Ian strengthened into a major hurricane and moved NNE across the SE Gulf of Mexico,|and intensified into a high end category 4 hurricane, makin…
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 Newberry 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.