Orangeburg County, South Carolina

What hazards hit Orangeburg County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 545 since 1956. 55% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1956 fell in June and July. The rank column places the county among South Carolina's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Orangeburg County had?

NOAA records 75 tornadoes in Orangeburg County from 1953 to 2024, the strongest rated EF3, with 2 deaths and 24 injuries recorded in the county. That is 4th of 46 South Carolina counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 76 tornadoes whose track touched Orangeburg County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 75: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 2 people.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in South Carolina.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Orangeburg County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the November 7, 2024 flood (2 deaths).

Record crest flooding occurred along the North Fork Edisto River as a result of heavy rain and upstream small pond and dam failures, causing several fatalities and damage to numerous structures in Orangeburg. The North Fork Edisto in Orangeburg rose from 7.00 feet at 12am EST on November 7th to a record crest of 15.34 feet at 1030pm on November 7th. The river remained in flood until November 10th. Two fatalities occurred in Orangeburg as a result of the river flooding. Damage occurred to the Walmart, CVS, and several other structures in downtown Orangeburg.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1222044)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Orangeburg County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

55% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1956 fell in June and July. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Orangeburg County

FEMA's register lists 31 declarations that include Orangeburg County: 16 major disasters, 15 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (15) and flood (3).

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Orangeburg County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 77 flood or flash flood records for Orangeburg County from 1996 to 2026, on 29 days, with 2 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Orangeburg County ranks 1201st of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $3.5 million on 122 claims filed in Orangeburg County; the most in one year was 41 in 2015. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Orangeburg County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Orangeburg County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $44.3 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Orangeburg County

1. Colleton County 1,543
2. Lexington County 1,352
3. Berkeley County 1,119
4. Orangeburg County 989
5. Dorchester County 957
6. Aiken County 886
7. Clarendon County 505
8. Calhoun County 355
9. Barnwell County 337
10. Bamberg County 299

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• Tornadoes in South CarolinaEvery South Carolina tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Severe thunderstorm wind in South CarolinaThe state's severe thunderstorm wind events, by county, year and month
• The South Carolina recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Orangeburg CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Orangeburg County's FEMA declarations (CSV)31 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis