Natural hazards · Socastee

Socastee, SC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Socastee comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 523 claims here since 1987. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Socastee?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Socastee to be higher than in 92% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes64%Inland flooding17%Earthquakes6%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Socastee faces

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

Hurricanes

64% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Inland flooding

17% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 43% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places

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 Socastee flood?

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

523paid claims since 1987

$35.5Mpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19872026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Florence: 194 claims, $20.7M
Hurricane Matthew: 102 claims, $8.3M
Hurricane Floyd: 35 claims, $890K

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Horry County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1homes raised above flood level

1buildings retrofitted against wind

Disasters that hit Socastee

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SocasteeDeclared for Horry County only

2018

Hurricane Florence

3 households applied for aid $20K aid approved

2016

Hurricane Matthew

8 households applied for aid $6K aid approved

2015

Severe Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid

Horry County has had 23 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and fires.

Around Socastee

Socastee and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Socasteemostly hurricanesVery high

Myrtle Beachmostly hurricanesVery high

Red Hillmostly hurricanesVery high

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. Socastee covers 4 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Socastee’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Socastee. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Socastee total about $11.6M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.