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Natural hazards · Cowpens

Cowpens, SC natural hazards

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

25
Low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cowpens to be higher than in 25% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding56%Cold waves11%Tornadoes10%Earthquakes7%Ice storms5%Everything else12%
By hazard

What Cowpens faces

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

Inland flooding

56% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 37% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

11% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Tornadoes

10% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 58% of U.S. places

Earthquakes

7% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places

Ice storms

5% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

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 Cowpens flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Cowpens isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Spartanburg County.
Disasters that hit Cowpens

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CowpensDeclared for Spartanburg County only
2024

Hurricane Helene

2,219 households applied for aid $1.7M aid approved $106K to the Town of Cowpens for repairs
2015

Severe Storms and Flooding

5 households applied for aid $2K aid approved
2005

Severe Ice Storm

$17K to the Town of Cowpens for repairs
2004

Tropical Storm Frances

2 households applied for aid $6K aid approved
2002

Severe Ice Storm

$6K to the Town of Cowpens for repairs
Spartanburg County has had 19 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. Cowpens 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 Cowpens’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Cowpens. 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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