118 flood insurance claims·$3.4M paid·11 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 Williamsburg 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 rainfall events dominates the flood character of Williamsburg County, accounting for 16 of the 26 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 7 general floods, 2 tropical storms, and 1 hurricane. Major tropical systems have historically driven severe local impacts, such as Hurricane Ian in September 2022, which brought flash flooding, storm surge, and tropical storm force winds after making landfall near Georgetown, South Carolina. Similarly, Tropical Storm Debby brought significant impacts to northeastern South Carolina in August 2024 following multiple landfalls, and Major Hurricane Matthew produced historic flooding in October 2016 by dropping 6 to 12 inches of rain—and up to 15 inches in some areas—within a 12-hour period on saturated soils.
National Flood Insurance Program records highlight distinct risk levels across property zones. Zone A properties should pay the most attention, having accumulated 61 claims with an average payout of $59,595 and an average recorded water depth of 19 inches. Residents in Zone X properties also face documented risk, accounting for 46 claims with an average payout of $19,828 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches, while unclassified or unknown zones represent 9 claims with an average payout of $12,405 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
3% of Williamsburg County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
63 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 14 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 46 claims and $2.7M 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.
16 NOAA storm reports from Williamsburg County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the South Carolina flood stories →
30 federal disaster declarations since 1989, 11 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.
26 since 1996: 16 flash floods and 7 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Aug 9, 2024 | $1,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Sep 30, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Jul 16, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 8, 2016 | $250,000 |
| Flash Flood | Oct 8, 2016 | $50,000 |
| Hurricane (Typhoon) | Oct 8, 2016 | $5.0M |
| Flood | Oct 10, 2015 | — |
| Flood | Oct 4, 2015 | $8.0M |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Aug 9, 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 · Oct 8, 2016. Major Hurricane Matthew moved up the southeast coast and slowly weakened to a category 1 storm as it moved up along the South Carolina coast and then eastward near the North Carolina coast. The hurricane brought 6 to 12 inches of rain and up to 15 inches to some areas of northeast South Carolina, with the bulk of the rainfall occurring within a 12 hour period. This rain fell on wet to in some cases saturated soil…
Hurricane (Typhoon) · Oct 8, 2016. Major Hurricane Matthew moved up the southeast coast and slowly weakened to a category 1 storm as it moved up along the South Carolina coast and then eastward near the North Carolina coast. The hurricane brought 6 to 12 inches of rain and up to 15 inches to some areas of northeast South Carolina, with the bulk of the rainfall occurring within a 12 hour period. This rain fell on wet to in some cases saturated soil…
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 Williamsburg 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.