Natural hazards · Waterloo

Waterloo, SC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Waterloo comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high 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 Waterloo?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Waterloo to be higher than in 70% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding56%Cold waves23%Everything else21%

By hazard

What Waterloo faces

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

Inland flooding

56% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

23% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter 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 Waterloo flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Laurens County.

Disasters that hit Waterloo

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WaterlooDeclared for Laurens County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

1,202 households applied for aid $1.6M aid approved

2015

Severe Storms and Flooding

2 households applied for aid

Laurens County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and ice 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. Waterloo 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 Waterloo’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Waterloo. 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.