Natural hazards · Ruby

Ruby, SC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ruby comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is moderate 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 Ruby?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ruby to be higher than in 45% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes33%Inland flooding30%Tornadoes16%Strong wind6%Everything else16%

By hazard

What Ruby faces

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

Hurricanes

33% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Inland flooding

30% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 26% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

16% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 24 years in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Ruby flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Chesterfield County.

Disasters that hit Ruby

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RubyDeclared for Chesterfield County only

2018

Hurricane Florence

58 households applied for aid $34K aid approved

2016

Hurricane Matthew

2 households applied for aid

2004

Tropical Storm Frances

6 households applied for aid $9K aid approved

2000

Severe Winter Storm

$8K to the Town of Ruby for repairs

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