FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Brookdale than in 62% of U.S. towns, led by hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Brookdale gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns, #110 of 169 in South Carolina. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (46%), then river and rain flooding (27%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What Brookdale faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
River and rain flooding
Earthquakes
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.
What’s behind Brookdale’s grade
Hurricanes are 46% of the building damage FEMA expects in Brookdale, and Brookdale’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 27% (lower than 89% of U.S. census tracts).
C+ #110 of 169 in South Carolina; higher expected damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Brookdale’s residents live in 4 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical South Carolina town has lower expected damage than 55% of U.S. towns; within the state, Brookdale has more expected damage per building than 65% of South Carolina towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.0M a year in losses across Brookdale: $1.5M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Brookdale flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Brookdale. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Brookdale isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Orangeburg County.The storms Brookdale remembers
None of the 20 disasters declared for Orangeburg County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Brookdale itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Orangeburg County has had 20 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Brookdale and its neighbors
Brookdale has the lowest expected damage per building of the 3 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brookdale | C+more damage than 62% | hurricanes | 0 |
| Wilkinson Heights | Cmore damage than 69% | hurricanes | — |
| Orangeburg | Cmore damage than 74% | hurricanes | 28 |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Brookdale faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Brookdale
Is Brookdale at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Brookdale has higher expected damage per building than 62% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk, #110 of 169 in South Carolina. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (46%) and river and rain flooding (27%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Brookdale 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 Orangeburg County, 21% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Brookdale?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Brookdale’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Brookdale at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (46%), and Brookdale’s rate for it is in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Brookdale.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Brookdale’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.