Natural hazards · Columbia

Columbia, SD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Columbia comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2011. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Columbia?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Columbia to be higher than in 37% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding38%Cold waves33%Hail9%Tornadoes7%Strong wind6%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Columbia faces

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

Inland flooding

38% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 41% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Cold waves

33% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places

Recorded about 13 times a year in the area

Hail

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Columbia flood?

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

1paid claims since 2011

$21Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20112026

Biggest named events

Late spring storms: 1 claim, $21K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Brown County.

Disasters that hit Columbia

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ColumbiaDeclared for Brown County only

2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

$65K to the City of Columbia for repairs

2007

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

36 households applied for aid $31K aid approved $3K to the City of Columbia for repairs

Brown County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods 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. Columbia 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 Columbia’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Columbia. 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.