Natural hazards · Varnville

Varnville, SC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Varnville comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2023. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Varnville?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Varnville to be higher than in 85% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes57%Inland flooding16%Earthquakes10%Everything else17%

By hazard

What Varnville faces

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

Hurricanes

57% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

16% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 24% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Earthquakes

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce 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 Varnville flood?

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

2paid claims since 2023

$72Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20232026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Idalia: 2 claims, $72K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Hampton County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1buildings retrofitted against wind

Disasters that hit Varnville

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into VarnvilleDeclared for Hampton County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

554 households applied for aid $541K aid approved

2020

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Straight-Line Winds

56 households applied for aid $113K aid approved

2016

Hurricane Matthew

130 households applied for aid $32K aid approved $47K to the Town of Varnville for repairs

2014

Severe Winter Storm

$39K to the Town of Varnville for repairs

1999

Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations

$963 to the Town of Varnville for repairs

Hampton County has had 16 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. Varnville 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 Varnville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Varnville. 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.