Natural hazards · Abbeville

Abbeville, SC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Abbeville comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Abbeville?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Abbeville to be higher than in 28% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding31%Cold waves22%Tornadoes16%Earthquakes9%Heat waves8%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Abbeville faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Inland flooding

31% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 27% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

22% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 62% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Tornadoes

16% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 14 years in the area

Earthquakes

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Heat waves

8% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 38% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Abbeville flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Abbeville.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Abbeville isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Abbeville County.

Disasters that hit Abbeville

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Abbeville itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the City of Abbeville.

Brought FEMA money into AbbevilleDeclared for Abbeville County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

2,843 households applied for aid $1.0M aid approved

2015

Severe Storms and Flooding

2 households applied for aid

Abbeville County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Abbeville is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Abbeville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Abbeville. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.