Natural hazards · Ridgeway

Ridgeway, SC natural hazards

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

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ridgeway to be higher than in 27% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding33%Tornadoes23%Hurricanes10%Heat waves8%Ice storms7%Earthquakes7%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Ridgeway faces

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

Inland flooding

33% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 19% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Tornadoes

23% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 16 years in the area

Hurricanes

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Heat waves

8% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 35% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Ice storms

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places

Lower here

HailWinter weatherCold 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 Ridgeway flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Fairfield County.

Disasters that hit Ridgeway

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RidgewayDeclared for Fairfield County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

308 households applied for aid $317K aid approved

2015

Severe Storms and Flooding

133 households applied for aid $53K aid approved

2004

Tropical Storm Frances

16 households applied for aid $131K aid approved

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