FEMA Records
34
Very high volume
South Carolina · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Horry County, SC
34 FEMA disaster declarations (1989-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively High. Most common hazard: Hurricane.
- 34
- FEMA declarations
- 16
- Major disasters
- 98
- NRI risk · Relatively High
- Hurricane
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Horry County. Its 34 FEMA declarations are 33% above the South Carolina county mean and exceed the count for 92% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 2%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 2%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively High
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 34
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 12,524
- NFIP flood insurance claims filed
FEMA's National Risk Index and its declaration registry are separate measures. This county's registry includes Fire Management Assistance (FM) records, which are not presidential disaster declarations, alongside Major Disaster (DR) and Emergency (EM) records.
How does Horry County compare?
Horry County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
34 Top 8% higher than 92% of 3,266 counties
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 · 2026-08-03
Horry County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the South Carolina county average
What does Horry County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 12,524 claims and $339.5M in payments. PlainHazard labels 500 or more claims a heavy registry record; that is a reporting bucket, not an official FEMA risk grade. The average paid claim was $27.1K. NFIP totals exclude uninsured flood losses and do not measure how many properties currently carry a policy.
The declaration register points in the busier direction. Horry County's 34 federal records stand 33% above the South Carolina county mean of 25.6. That comparison describes how often federal action was recorded, including any Major Disaster, Emergency, and Fire Management entries shown on this page; it does not convert the count into future probability.
FEMA National Risk Index
This county sits among the highest-risk counties nationally on FEMA's National Risk Index, a composite score of 98.2/100 (Relatively High). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively High (roughly $290.4M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively High and community resilience Relatively High, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Hurricane stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Very High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 3 years here, based on 123 historical events on record.
Declaration frequency
The FEMA register is busy by both local and national comparisons. It contains 34 entries for Horry County, including 16 Major Disaster records, 33% above the South Carolina county mean. Across the 37-year span, that works out to 0.9 declarations a year. Hurricane leads the file with 18 entries. Declaration type records the federal action taken, not every assistance program approved.
74 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Horry County, SC · PlainHazard-derived composite from federal records
This 0–100 index is an explicit PlainHazard composite from FEMA declaration history only on the county surface (this DB has no county-level NOAA damage row) . It is not FEMA's National Risk Index, not a forecast, and not a safety, insurance, or preparedness rating. Open the calculator · Methodology
FEMA Declarations (1953–present) Very High
25/30
34 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.6x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
17/25
34 declarations (1.3x state county average of 26)
Major Disaster Share Moderate
12/25
16 of 34 declarations are major disasters (47%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
8 different disaster types declared in Horry County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. South Carolina Avg
+33%
State avg: 25.6
vs. National Avg
+64%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.9
Over 37 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Horry County
How to read this radar
Each axis: NRI risk rating (Very Low-Very High) on a 0-100 scale. Rounder = broad exposure; spiky = one or two hazards dominate.
Major Disaster share
47%
Mixed major share
NRI risk score
98
Relatively High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Horry County?
FEMA's National Risk Index models a historical event count and an annualized frequency for each hazard type. Most hazards are expressed as modeled occurrences per year; FEMA expresses drought and heat-wave frequency as event-days per year. These modeled frequencies are not forecasts.
| Hazard | NRI Risk Rating | Recurrence |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane | Very High | roughly once every 3 years |
| Tornado | Relatively High | roughly once every 2 years |
| Earthquake | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 399 years |
| Lightning | Relatively High | an average of 59 times per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively High | an average of 1.3 times per year |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 9.2 modeled event-days per year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively High | roughly once every 2 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 2 times per year |
| Wildfire | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 954 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 2 years |
| Coastal Flooding | Relatively High | an average of 3.6 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | an average of 2.8 times per year |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 10 modeled event-days per year |
| Hail | Relatively Low | an average of 2.7 times per year |
| Landslide | Very Low | roughly once every 6 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Hurricane 18
Fire 4
Tropical Storm 3
Severe Ice Storm 3
Biological 2
Flood 2
Winter Storm 1
Severe Storm 1
What Hurricane declarations mean here
Hurricane is the most frequent declaration type on Horry County's federal record, 53% of its declarations. Atlantic tropical systems run on a defined season, 1 June to 30 November, with most activity concentrated between August and October; Pacific and territorial basins run on their own calendars. A single named storm routinely produces one declaration number covering a long corridor of counties at once, well inland as well as on the coast, which is why an affected county's count can jump by several in one year without several separate events having occurred.
One practical distinction matters when reading these records: a tropical declaration usually bundles wind, storm surge and inland rainfall flooding under a single incident, but the insurance behind them is split. Wind damage falls to property insurers, while flood and surge damage is covered only under a separate National Flood Insurance Program policy. That is why a county can show heavy declaration activity and a comparatively small NFIP claims record, or the reverse.
Declaration counts describe past federal action. They are a record of what was declared, not a forecast of future hazard probability.
Declaration Types
What DR / EM / FM mean
FEMA categorizes declarations as Major Disasters (DR), Emergencies (EM), or Fire Management Assistance (FM).
Major Disaster - 16 47.1%
of all 34 declarations
Emergency - 14 41.2%
of all 34 declarations
Fire Management - 4 11.8%
of all 34 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 3 | |
| 2023 | 2 | |
| 2022 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 2 | |
| 2018 | 3 | |
| 2017 | 3 | |
| 2016 | 2 | |
| 2014 | 2 | |
| 2009 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 2 | |
| 2004 | 2 | |
| 2002 | 2 | |
Show 4 earlier declaration years
| 1999 | 2 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 1 | |
| 1989 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 34 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 34 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3632 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Winter Storm | 2026-01-23 |
| 5554 | COVINGTON DRIVE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2025-03-07 |
| 4835 | TROPICAL STORM DEBBY | DR | Tropical Storm | 2024-09-29 |
| 3619 | HURRICANE HELENE | EM | Tropical Storm | 2024-09-26 |
| 3606 | HURRICANE DEBBY | EM | Tropical Storm | 2024-08-05 |
| 3597 | HURRICANE IDALIA | EM | Hurricane | 2023-08-31 |
| 4677 | HURRICANE IAN | DR | Hurricane | 2022-11-21 |
| 3585 | HURRICANE IAN | EM | Hurricane | 2022-09-29 |
| 4492 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-27 |
| 3470 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4464 | HURRICANE DORIAN | DR | Hurricane | 2019-09-30 |
| 3421 | HURRICANE DORIAN | EM | Hurricane | 2019-09-01 |
| 4394 | HURRICANE FLORENCE | DR | Hurricane | 2018-09-16 |
| 3400 | HURRICANE FLORENCE | EM | Hurricane | 2018-09-10 |
| 4346 | HURRICANE IRMA | DR | Hurricane | 2017-10-16 |
| 3386 | HURRICANE IRMA | EM | Hurricane | 2017-09-07 |
| 4286 | HURRICANE MATTHEW | DR | Hurricane | 2016-10-11 |
| 3378 | HURRICANE MATTHEW | EM | Hurricane | 2016-10-06 |
| 4241 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2015-10-05 |
| 3373 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | EM | Severe Storm | 2015-10-03 |
Show 14 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4166 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2014-03-12 |
| 3369 | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM | Severe Ice Storm | 2014-02-12 |
| 2816 | HIGHWAY 31 FIRE | FM | Fire | 2009-04-23 |
| 3233 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-10 |
| 1566 | TROPICAL STORM FRANCES | DR | Hurricane | 2004-10-07 |
| 1543 | HURRICANE CHARLEY | DR | Hurricane | 2004-09-01 |
| 1509 | SEVERE ICE STORM | DR | Severe Ice Storm | 2004-02-13 |
| 2426 | SC-LEGENDS FIRE | FM | Fire | 2002-06-18 |
| 2388 | SC - LONG BAY FIRE - 11/09/2001 | FM | Fire | 2001-11-09 |
| 1299 | HURRICANE FLOYD MAJOR DISASTER DECLARATIONS | DR | Hurricane | 1999-09-21 |
| 3145 | HURRICANE FLOYD EMERGENCY DECLARATIONS | EM | Hurricane | 1999-09-15 |
| 1243 | HURRICANE BONNIE | DR | Hurricane | 1998-09-04 |
| 1140 | SEVERE WINDS AND FLOODING ASSOC WITH HURRICANE FRAN | DR | Flood | 1996-09-30 |
| 843 | HURRICANE HUGO | DR | Hurricane | 1989-09-22 |
Storm Events in South Carolina
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Horry County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 5,845 | 11 | 40 | $11.4M |
| Hail | 1,207 | 0 | 0 | $25.1M |
| Flash Flood | 954 | 20 | 35 | $150.4M |
| Strong Wind | 395 | 4 | 13 | $711.8K |
| Tornado | 320 | 9 | 110 | $127.1M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
12,524
Total Paid
$339.5M
Avg Per Claim
$27.1K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively High
Score: 98.2/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively High
$290.4M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Relatively High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Hurricane Very High
Tornado Relatively High
Earthquake Relatively Moderate
Lightning Relatively High
Winter Weather Relatively High
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Ice Storm Relatively High
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Wildfire Relatively Moderate
Cold Wave Relatively Moderate
Coastal Flooding Relatively High
Strong Wind Relatively High
Drought Relatively Low
Hail Relatively Low
Landslide Very Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) Ratings reflect relative scores among all US counties. Data: hazards.fema.gov/nri
The model's sharpest exposure here: Hurricane
Hurricane exposure in the model bundles the three ways a tropical system does harm, which arrive on different timescales and are insured differently: wind, storm surge on the coast, and rainfall flooding that can reach far inland well after landfall.
For Horry County the two measures on this page point the same way: Hurricane is the county's highest-rated modeled hazard (Very High), and Hurricane declarations also lead its federal record. Where the model and the declaration history agree, the reading is comparatively straightforward, the hazard is both expected and repeatedly realised.
National Risk Index ratings are modeled estimates of expected annual loss, not predictions of what will happen in any given year.
Data-matched county comparisons
Horry County's closest FEMA peer: Lincoln County, NM
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Horry County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Horry County shows 34 FEMA declarations, led by Hurricane.
Similar Major-disaster share
Horry County: 16 of 34 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Horry County: NRI composite 98.2 (Relatively High).
How these peers are chosen
Cohort: Published U.S. county equivalents outside the source state or territory. Each metric keeps six ETL candidates; three unique destinations are shown after de-duplicating across axes. Declaration-volume ranking combines count and Major-disaster share and prefers a different leading incident type; Major-share ranks the Major fraction adjusted for volume; NRI ranks the modeled composite score only.
Retained FEMA snapshot feed for Horry County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Horry County's NFIP claims file (12,524 claims) and FEMA declaration history measure different federal records - this guide separates them from modeled NRI risk.
More PlainHazard guides
- Most disaster-prone counties - U.S. counties ranked by FEMA declaration totals.
- Understanding disaster data - declarations vs storm events vs NRI scores.
- Preparing for natural disasters - household checklist (not county-specific advice).
Related
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common disaster type in Horry County?
The most common disaster type in Horry County is Hurricane, with 18 declarations. Other disaster types include Fire (4), Tropical Storm (3), Severe Ice Storm (3).
How does Horry County's FEMA declaration record compare with the South Carolina average?
FEMA lists 34 declaration records for Horry County. That is 33% above the South Carolina county mean of 25.6. Its count is also 64% above the national county mean of 20.7. A larger declaration history records more federal actions; it is not a forecast of the county's next hazard.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Horry County received?
Horry County has received 16 major disaster declarations, representing 47% of all 34 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Horry County filed?
Horry County has 12,524 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $339.5M in payments, with an average of $27.1K per claim.
What was the worst year for disasters in Horry County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Horry County was 2017, with 3 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1989 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Horry County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Horry County, South Carolina has an overall risk score of 98.2 out of 100 (Relatively High). The county's social vulnerability rating is Relatively High and community resilience is Relatively High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively High, representing $290.4M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Horry County?
FEMA's NRI data points to Horry County as of the latest release is Hurricane (risk rating: Very High). Other significant hazards include Tornado (Relatively High) and Earthquake (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts hurricane here at roughly once every 3 years, drawn from 123 historical events on record. These scores are based on FEMA's analysis of historical event frequency, exposed assets, and community vulnerability.
Data Sources & Methodology
Disaster declaration data comes from the FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 API, which includes all federally declared disasters, emergencies, and fire management assistance grants.
Storm event data is sourced from the NOAA Storm Events Database (2015-2025), which tracks significant weather events including thunderstorms, tornadoes, floods, and winter storms.
Flood insurance data comes from the FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA claims dataset.
This data is provided for informational purposes only. FEMA disaster declarations represent federal response actions and may not capture all local emergencies or weather events.
What this means for Horry County
Horry County, SC has 34 federal declaration records, 33% more than the South Carolina county mean of 26; its history sits in PlainHazard's high activity band.
- Within this above-state-average declaration file, major disaster leads with 16 of 34 records; the category describes past federal action, not the next likely hazard. South Carolina overview
- The state benchmark and national rank point the same way: this count tops the South Carolina mean and the totals for 92% of 3,266 U.S. counties. Most-disaster rankings
- The large NFIP claims file and FEMA declaration history measure different federal records; the guide explains where they overlap and where they do not. Disaster-data guide
An above-average declaration count records past federal responses; it does not predict the next event. Current warnings come from the National Weather Service and local emergency officials.
PlainHazard derives this profile from FEMA's Disaster Declarations Summaries and National Risk Index data. The declaration comparison covers 3,266 U.S. counties and county equivalents in this database, refreshed as of 2026-08-03. Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
All federal data sources used on this page
- FEMA OpenFEMA, Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 - all federally-declared disasters for this county. fema.gov/openfema/disaster-declarations
- FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) - per-county per-hazard risk ratings and expected annual loss. hazards.fema.gov/nri
- NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database - state-level storm/severe-weather event records, 2015-2025. ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents
Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainHazard Editorial
Verify with FEMA → · Verify with FEMA NRI → · Verify with NOAA →
Every figure on PlainHazard is rendered directly from FEMA federal disaster data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or national statistics report, the data & editorial changelog, or report a data error.