Harbor Island’s biggest natural hazard is hurricanes
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Harbor Island comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Harbor Island’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
What Harbor Island faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
Coastal flooding
How exposed is Harbor Island?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 99% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and coastal flooding.
Rated higher than 474 of the 475 South Carolina towns we cover.
Harbor Island is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
Does Harbor Island flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Harbor Island. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Harbor Island isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Beaufort County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Harbor Island
Disasters that paid out in Harbor Island itself (aid to households or repair grants to Harbor Island) and its biggest flood years.
- 2016Hurricane Matthew1 household applied for aid
Beaufort County has had 14 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and winter storms.
Old photos of Harbor Island after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Harbor Island archive →Get ready for what Harbor Island actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- Know your evacuation zone and the way off the coast.
- Storm surge comes fast: leave when you’re told, not when the water arrives.
- Move cars to high ground before king tides and nor’easters.
- Keep a shovel, a blanket and snacks in the car.
- Clear snow from furnace and dryer vents.
- Check on older neighbors when the power goes out.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Most disasters here begin in August–October
The month each of Beaufort County’s 14 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Harbor Island’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Harbor Island.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Harbor Island.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.