Natural hazards · Cottageville

Cottageville, SC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cottageville comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Cottageville?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cottageville to be higher than in 95% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and earthquakes.

Hurricanes47%Earthquakes24%Inland flooding18%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Cottageville faces

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

Hurricanes

47% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Earthquakes

24% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

18% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Cottageville flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Colleton County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1buildings retrofitted against wind

Disasters that hit Cottageville

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CottagevilleDeclared for Colleton County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

4 households applied for aid $1K aid approved

2020

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Straight-Line Winds

30 households applied for aid $43K aid approved

2019

Hurricane Dorian

$15K to the Town of Cottageville for repairs

2017

Hurricane Irma

$6K to the Town of Cottageville for repairs

2016

Hurricane Matthew

93 households applied for aid $41K aid approved $13K to the Town of Cottageville for repairs

2015

Severe Storms and Flooding

132 households applied for aid $91K aid approved

1999

Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations

$2K to the Town of Cottageville for repairs

Colleton County has had 16 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. Cottageville 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 Cottageville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Cottageville. 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.