Natural hazards · Bethune

Bethune, SC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bethune comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low 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 Bethune?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bethune to be higher than in 27% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.

Inland flooding32%Hurricanes23%Earthquakes12%Tornadoes12%Cold waves5%Strong wind5%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Bethune faces

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

Inland flooding

32% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 13% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Hurricanes

23% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Earthquakes

12% of expected damage

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

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 15 years in the area

Cold waves

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 67% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Bethune flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Kershaw County.

Disasters that hit Bethune

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BethuneDeclared for Kershaw County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

38 households applied for aid $47K aid approved

2015

Severe Storms and Flooding

42 households applied for aid $41K aid approved

2004

Tropical Storm Frances

11 households applied for aid $17K aid approved

Kershaw County has had 20 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. Bethune 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 Bethune’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Bethune. 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.