Natural hazards · North

North, SC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in North comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2024. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is North?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in North to be higher than in 59% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.

Inland flooding30%Hurricanes29%Earthquakes16%Tornadoes6%Strong wind5%Everything else15%

By hazard

What North faces

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

Inland flooding

30% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 35% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Hurricanes

29% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Earthquakes

16% of expected damage

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

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 17 years in the area

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesLightningDrought

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 North flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in North, from FEMA’s records.

1paid claims since 2024

$105Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20242026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Orangeburg County.

Disasters that hit North

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into NorthDeclared for Orangeburg County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

535 households applied for aid $1.1M aid approved

2020

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Straight-Line Winds

34 households applied for aid $104K aid approved

2016

Hurricane Matthew

30 households applied for aid $22K aid approved

2015

Severe Storms and Flooding

305 households applied for aid $193K aid approved

2004

Severe Ice Storm

$8K to the Town of North for repairs

Orangeburg County has had 20 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. North 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 North’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of North. 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.