Storms, floods and disasters in Madison
Madison isn’t graded for hazard risk: Madison has 133 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Madison faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Coastal flooding
River and rain flooding
Hurricanes
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
Does Madison flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Madison. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Madison isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Dorchester County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Madison
Disasters that paid out in Madison itself (aid to households or repair grants to Madison), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2003Hurricane Isabel52 households applied for aid$224K aid approved
Dorchester County has had 15 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Madison after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Madison archive →Get ready for what Madison faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Know your evacuation zone and the way off the coast.
- Storm surge comes fast: leave when you’re told, not when the water arrives.
- Move cars to high ground before king tides and nor’easters.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Madison
Is Madison in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Dorchester County, 49% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 8.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Madison?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Madison’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Madison?
By FEMA money that reached Madison, Hurricane Isabel (2003): 52 households applied for aid, $224K approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Madison.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Madison’s residents lived in the 2020 census; 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. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.