Natural hazards · Clemson University

Clemson University, SC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Clemson University comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Clemson University?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Clemson University to be higher than in 8% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and earthquakes.

Inland flooding41%Earthquakes29%Cold waves6%Ice storms6%Tornadoes5%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Clemson University faces

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

Inland flooding

41% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 4% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Earthquakes

29% of expected damage

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

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Ice storms

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

5% of expected damage

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

Lower here

HurricanesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong 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 Clemson University flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Pickens County.

Disasters that hit Clemson University

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Pickens County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Clemson University itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into Clemson UniversityDeclared for Pickens County only

Pickens County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and fires.

Around Clemson University

Clemson University and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Clemsonmostly inland floodingModerate

Clemson Universitymostly inland floodingVery low

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. Clemson University 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 Clemson University’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Clemson University. 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.