Natural hazards · Tatum

Tatum, SC natural hazards

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

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Tatum to be higher than in 67% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes27%Inland flooding27%Tornadoes15%Cold waves7%Ice storms6%Everything else18%

By hazard

What Tatum 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 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

27% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 44% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 29 years in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Ice storms

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HailWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Tatum flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Marlboro County.

Disasters that hit Tatum

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into TatumDeclared for Marlboro County only

2020

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Straight-Line Winds

1 household applied for aid

2018

Hurricane Florence

4 households applied for aid

2016

Hurricane Matthew

1 household applied for aid

Marlboro County has had 18 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. Tatum 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 Tatum’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Tatum. 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.