Natural hazards · West Union

West Union, SC natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in West Union comes from cold waves, 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 West Union?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in West Union to be higher than in 54% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves47%Inland flooding37%Tornadoes6%Everything else9%

By hazard

What West Union faces

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

Cold waves

47% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Inland flooding

37% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 West Union flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Oconee County.

Disasters that hit West Union

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into West UnionDeclared for Oconee County only

2024

Hurricane Helene

303 households applied for aid $108K aid approved

2020

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Straight-Line Winds

4 households applied for aid

Oconee 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. West Union 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 West Union’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of West Union. 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.