Natural hazards · Pickens

Pickens, SC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Pickens comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1995. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Pickens?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Pickens to be higher than in 32% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding64%Cold waves12%Earthquakes7%Everything else18%

By hazard

What Pickens faces

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

Inland flooding

64% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 54% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

12% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Earthquakes

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Pickens flood?

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

2paid claims since 1995

$27Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19952026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Pickens County.

Disasters that hit Pickens

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PickensDeclared for Pickens County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

3,177 households applied for aid $2.6M aid approved $660K to the City of Pickens for repairs

2020

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Straight-Line Winds

33 households applied for aid $22K aid approved

2020

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

$134K to the City of Pickens for repairs

2017

Hurricane Irma

$23K to the City of Pickens for repairs

2005

Severe Ice Storm

$47K to the City of Pickens for repairs

2004

Tropical Storm Frances

13 households applied for aid $18K aid approved

Pickens County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and fires.

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