Natural hazards · Elko

Elko, SC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Elko comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Elko?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Elko to be higher than in 49% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes28%Inland flooding27%Tornadoes16%Earthquakes10%Everything else19%

By hazard

What Elko faces

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

Hurricanes

28% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Inland flooding

27% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 21% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Tornadoes

16% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 22 years in the area

Earthquakes

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Elko flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Barnwell County.

Disasters that hit Elko

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ElkoDeclared for Barnwell County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

23 households applied for aid $28K aid approved

2020

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Straight-Line Winds

1 household applied for aid

Barnwell County has had 18 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. Elko 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 Elko’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Elko. 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.