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B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Fort Lawn · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Fort Lawn faces less hazard damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Fort Lawn gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (70%), then tornadoes (13%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 70%Tornadoes 13%Earthquakes 6%

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

less than 69%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
B+
in South Carolina · lower than 69% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
70% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
1
of 17 declared for Chester County

What stands out about Fort Lawn’s natural hazards

From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.

Lower expected damage than 69% of U.S. townsFEMA’s model of yearly storm and flood damage per dollar of building.Made safer with FEMA grants2 buildings retrofitted against wind with FEMA grants.
By hazard

What Fort Lawn faces

Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.

River and rain flooding

70%of expected building damage
About average · lower than 60% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Tornadoes

13%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. census tracts

Earthquakes

6%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. census tracts

Ice storms

5%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Strong wind Hail Wildfire Lightning Winter storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts tornadoes at 24% of Fort Lawn’s expected losses. Tornadoes do little damage to buildings (12.9%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Fort Lawn’s grade

River and rain flooding is 70% of the building damage FEMA expects in Fort Lawn, and Fort Lawn’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 60% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 5%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Fort Lawn sits
Fort Lawn
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ lower expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Fort Lawn’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding70%Tornadoes13%Earthquakes6%Everything else11%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $287K a year in losses across Fort Lawn: $157K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Recent disaster.FEMA’s model looks at expected damage to the buildings standing today. After Hurricane Helene in 2024, FEMA took 117 aid registrations from Fort Lawn addresses (the town has 461 homes).
Shared tract.All of Fort Lawn’s 962 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Fort Lawn flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Fort Lawn. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Fort Lawn isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Chester County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
2buildings retrofitted against wind
Disasters

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Fort Lawn

Disasters that paid out in Fort Lawn itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Fort Lawn), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2024Hurricane Helene117 households applied for aid$250K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Fort LawnChester County only

Chester County has had 17 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.

Were you here?

Old photos of Fort Lawn after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Fort Lawn archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Fort Lawn faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Tornado warnings
  • Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
  • A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
  • Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Earthquakes
  • Drop, cover and hold on.
  • Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
  • Know how to shut off the gas.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Ice storms
  • Ice brings down trees and lines: plan for days without power.
  • Run a generator outside, far from doors and windows.
  • Keep sand or salt by the door.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Fort Lawn

Is Fort Lawn at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Fort Lawn has lower expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (70%) and tornadoes (13%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Is Fort Lawn 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 Chester County, 14% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.2% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Fort Lawn?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Fort Lawn’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 Fort Lawn?

By FEMA money that reached Fort Lawn, Hurricane Helene (2024): 117 households applied for aid, $250K approved.

Is Fort Lawn at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (70%), and Fort Lawn’s rate for it is lower than 60% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Fort Lawn.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Fort Lawn’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.