Storms, floods and disasters in Cordova
Cordova isn’t graded for hazard risk: Cordova has 118 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Cordova 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.
Does Cordova flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Cordova. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Cordova 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.5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Cordova
Disasters that paid out in Cordova itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Cordova), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Hurricane Helene334 households applied for aid$493K aid approved
- 2020Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Straight-line Winds20 households applied for aid$17K aid approved
- 2016Hurricane Matthew85 households applied for aid$26K aid approved
- 2015Severe Storms and Flooding189 households applied for aid$53K aid approved
- 2014Severe Winter Storm$15K to the Town of Cordova for repairs
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.
Old photos of Cordova after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Cordova archive →Get ready for what Cordova 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 Cordova
Is Cordova 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 Cordova?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Cordova’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 Cordova?
By FEMA money that reached Cordova, Hurricane Helene (2024): 334 households applied for aid, $493K approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Cordova.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Cordova’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.