Natural hazards · Alcolu

Alcolu, SC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Alcolu comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Alcolu?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Alcolu to be higher than in 83% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes.

Hurricanes53%Inland flooding13%Earthquakes8%Heat waves6%Tornadoes5%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Alcolu faces

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

Hurricanes

53% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Inland flooding

13% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 18% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Earthquakes

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Heat waves

6% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 44% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 59% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 16 years in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Alcolu flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Clarendon County.

Disasters that hit Alcolu

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into AlcoluDeclared for Clarendon County only

2016

Hurricane Matthew

45 households applied for aid $29K aid approved

2015

Severe Storms and Flooding

333 households applied for aid $445K aid approved

2004

Tropical Storm Frances

35 households applied for aid $44K aid approved

Clarendon County has had 17 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. Alcolu 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 Alcolu’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Alcolu. 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.