Natural hazards · Ridgeville

Ridgeville, SC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ridgeville comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ridgeville?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ridgeville to be higher than in 95% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and earthquakes.

Hurricanes50%Earthquakes30%Inland flooding11%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Ridgeville faces

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

Hurricanes

50% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Earthquakes

30% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

11% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 40% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Ridgeville flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Dorchester County.

Disasters that hit Ridgeville

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RidgevilleDeclared for Dorchester County only

2016

Hurricane Matthew

151 households applied for aid $236K aid approved

2015

Severe Storms and Flooding

563 households applied for aid $542K aid approved

2014

Severe Winter Storm

$5K to the Town of Ridgeville for repairs

Dorchester County has had 15 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. Ridgeville 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 Ridgeville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Ridgeville. 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.