122 flood insurance claims·$3.5M paid·10 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 Orangeburg 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 driven by heavy rainfall and tropical systems dominates the flood character of Orangeburg County, South Carolina, accounting for 66 of the 83 recorded flood events over the last 30 years alongside 9 general floods resulting in 2 deaths and 8 tropical storm events.
Recent events illustrate this recurring hazard. In May 2025, heavy rain associated with an EF-1 tornado system produced minor flash flooding across northern Orangeburg County. More severely, a stalled front combined with tropical moisture fueled by Hurricane Rafael in the Gulf of Mexico brought record-setting rainfall in November 2024, with northern Orangeburg receiving over 10 inches of rain from training tropical downpours that caused widespread flash flooding.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that homeowners in both mapped high-risk areas and standard zones face financial exposure. Zone A leads claim frequency with 60 filings averaging a $51,612 payout and an average recorded water depth of 10 inches. However, properties in Zone X have recorded 42 claims with an average payout of $16,156 and an average water depth of 18 inches, while Zone X_UNSHADED properties recorded 12 claims with an average payout of $64,560 and an average depth of 3 inches. Residents in Zone A and Zone X should pay the closest attention to flood risks regardless of whether they reside in designated high-risk flood zones.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
17% of Orangeburg County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
78 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 11 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 41 claims and $686,996 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.
43 NOAA storm reports from Orangeburg County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the South Carolina flood stories →
31 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 10 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 21, 2026 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Nov 6, 2024 |
| 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 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Straight-line Winds | Apr 12, 2020 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
83 since 1996: 66 flash floods and 9 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | May 12, 2025 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 27, 2024 | $2.0M |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 27, 2024 | $4.9M |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Nov 7, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Nov 7, 2024 | — · 2 killed |
| Flash Flood | Aug 7, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Nov 6, 2024 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · May 12, 2025. A high-end EF-1 tornado struck the community of Langley, SC overnight on May 12th. The tornado was embedded within an area of heavy rain in an otherwise unfavorable environment to severe weather across the area. It was the only severe report of the event other than some minor flash flooding that was reported later that morning across northern Orangeburg 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 · Aug 8, 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 · Nov 7, 2024. Record setting rainfall occurred across portions of the southern Midlands as a stalled front and a deep plume of tropical moisture caused rain rates of over 2-4 per hour for over six hours. Hurricane Rafael in the Gulf of Mexico contributed to the influx of extremely anomalous moisture. Northern Orangeburg and western Calhoun counties received over 10 and the surrounding counties saw over 6 as training tropical do…
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 Orangeburg 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.