Natural hazards · Gadsden

Gadsden, SC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Gadsden comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Gadsden?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Gadsden to be higher than in 51% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.

Inland flooding48%Hurricanes16%Earthquakes13%Tornadoes6%Everything else17%

By hazard

What Gadsden faces

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

Inland flooding

48% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 46% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

16% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Earthquakes

13% of expected damage

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

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 55% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 14 years in the area

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 Gadsden flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Richland County.

Disasters that hit Gadsden

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into GadsdenDeclared for Richland County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

138 households applied for aid $122K aid approved

2015

Severe Storms and Flooding

370 households applied for aid $313K aid approved

2004

Tropical Storm Frances

4 households applied for aid $36K aid approved

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