Natural hazards · Olar

Olar, SC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Olar comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Olar?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Olar to be higher than in 77% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes44%Inland flooding24%Hail8%Strong wind7%Earthquakes5%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Olar faces

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

Hurricanes

44% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Inland flooding

24% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 44% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Hail

8% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 48% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesIce 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 Olar flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Bamberg County.

Disasters that hit Olar

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into OlarDeclared for Bamberg County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

114 households applied for aid $92K aid approved

2016

Hurricane Matthew

14 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

2015

Severe Storms and Flooding

9 households applied for aid

1999

Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations

$1K to the Town of Olar for repairs

Bamberg 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. Olar 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 Olar’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Olar. 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.