Natural hazards · Ward

Ward, SC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ward comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ward?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ward to be higher than in 43% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding37%Tornadoes14%Drought11%Hurricanes10%Earthquakes9%Everything else18%

By hazard

What Ward faces

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

Inland flooding

37% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 50% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Tornadoes

14% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 16 years in the area

Drought

11% of expected damage

Recorded about 39 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

10% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 13 years in the area

Earthquakes

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 Ward flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Saluda County.

Disasters that hit Ward

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WardDeclared for Saluda County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

223 households applied for aid $346K aid approved

Saluda County has had 15 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. Ward 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 Ward’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Ward. 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.