Natural hazards · Catawba

Catawba, SC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Catawba comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 2010. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Catawba?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Catawba to be higher than in 35% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding52%Tornadoes25%Strong wind6%Everything else17%

By hazard

What Catawba faces

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

Inland flooding

52% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 53% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

25% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 65 years in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Catawba flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Catawba, from FEMA’s records.

6paid claims since 2010

$85Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20102026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Debby: 1 claim, $13K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: York County.

Disasters that hit Catawba

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CatawbaDeclared for York County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

66 households applied for aid $60K aid approved

York 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. Catawba covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

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

FEMA’s expected losses across Catawba total about $2.3M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.