Natural hazards · St. Matthews

St. Matthews, SC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in St. Matthews comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is St. Matthews?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in St. Matthews to be higher than in 35% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes27%Inland flooding25%Earthquakes15%Tornadoes11%Strong wind6%Everything else16%

By hazard

What St. Matthews faces

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

Hurricanes

27% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

25% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 14% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Earthquakes

15% of expected damage

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

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 62% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 16 years in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesLightningDrought

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 St. Matthews flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Calhoun County.

Disasters that hit St. Matthews

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into St. MatthewsDeclared for Calhoun County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

27 households applied for aid $77K aid approved

2016

Hurricane Matthew

84 households applied for aid $43K aid approved $13K to the Town of St. Matthews for repairs

2015

Severe Storms and Flooding

573 households applied for aid $265K aid approved $29K to the Town of St. Matthews for repairs

2004

Tropical Storm Frances

29 households applied for aid $24K aid approved

2004

Severe Ice Storm

$28K to the Town of St. Matthews for repairs

Calhoun County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.

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