Natural hazards · Cordova

Cordova, SC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cordova comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Cordova?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cordova to be higher than in 62% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes33%Inland flooding25%Earthquakes17%Cold waves6%Strong wind6%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Cordova faces

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

Hurricanes

33% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

25% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 29% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Earthquakes

17% 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

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce 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 Cordova flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Orangeburg County.

Disasters that hit Cordova

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CordovaDeclared for Orangeburg County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

334 households applied for aid $493K aid approved

2020

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Straight-Line Winds

20 households applied for aid $17K aid approved

2016

Hurricane Matthew

85 households applied for aid $26K aid approved

2015

Severe Storms and Flooding

189 households applied for aid $53K aid approved

2014

Severe Winter Storm

$15K to the Town of Cordova for repairs

Orangeburg 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. Cordova 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 Cordova’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Cordova. 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.