Natural hazards · Pelion

Pelion, SC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Pelion comes from inland flooding, 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 Pelion?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Pelion to be higher than in 48% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding31%Tornadoes22%Hurricanes16%Earthquakes8%Drought6%Everything else17%

By hazard

What Pelion faces

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

Inland flooding

31% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 47% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

22% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 93 years in the area

Hurricanes

16% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Earthquakes

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Drought

6% of expected damage

Recorded about 19 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Pelion flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Lexington County.

Disasters that hit Pelion

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PelionDeclared for Lexington County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

580 households applied for aid $591K aid approved

2015

Severe Storms and Flooding

123 households applied for aid $112K aid approved

Lexington County has had 17 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. Pelion 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 Pelion’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Pelion. 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.