Natural hazards · Pendleton

Pendleton, SC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Pendleton comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low 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 Pendleton?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Pendleton to be higher than in 23% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding48%Cold waves15%Tornadoes13%Earthquakes9%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Pendleton 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 28% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

15% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 62% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places

Earthquakes

9% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat 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 Pendleton flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Anderson County.

Disasters that hit Pendleton

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PendletonDeclared for Anderson County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

1,788 households applied for aid $1.2M aid approved $213K to the Town of Pendleton for repairs

2020

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$26K to the Town of Pendleton for repairs

2015

Severe Storms and Flooding

$19K to the Town of Pendleton for repairs

2005

Severe Ice Storm

$16K to the Town of Pendleton for repairs

Anderson County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.

Around Pendleton

Pendleton and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Clemsonmostly inland floodingModerate

Pendletonmostly inland floodingLow

La Francemostly inland floodingLow

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