Natural hazards · Swansea

Swansea, SC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Swansea comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Swansea?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Swansea to be higher than in 53% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding38%Tornadoes19%Hurricanes17%Earthquakes7%Everything else19%

By hazard

What Swansea faces

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

Inland flooding

38% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 56% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

19% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 40 years in the area

Hurricanes

17% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Earthquakes

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Swansea flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Lexington County.

Disasters that hit Swansea

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SwanseaDeclared for Lexington County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

606 households applied for aid $795K aid approved

2015

Severe Storms and Flooding

228 households applied for aid $156K aid approved

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