Photo: Adam Moss from Tonawanda, New York, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0FEMA puts Hamer’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 88% of U.S. towns, mostly from hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Hamer gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (61%), then river and rain flooding (25%). 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 Hamer 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
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 Hamer’s grade
Hurricanes are 61% of the building damage FEMA expects in Hamer, and Hamer’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 2%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Hamer’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $791K a year in losses across Hamer: $659K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Hamer flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Hamer. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Hamer isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Dillon County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Hamer
Disasters that paid out in Hamer itself (aid to households or repair grants to Hamer), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2018Hurricane Florence247 households applied for aid$375K aid approved
- 2016Hurricane Matthew228 households applied for aid$263K aid approved
- 2004Tropical Storm Frances96 households applied for aid$55K aid approved
Dillon County has had 18 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Hamer after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Hamer archive →Get ready for what Hamer 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.
- 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 Hamer
Is Hamer at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Hamer has higher expected damage per building than 88% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (61%) and river and rain flooding (25%). 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 Hamer 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 Dillon County, 25% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Hamer?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Hamer’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 Hamer?
By FEMA money that reached Hamer, Hurricane Florence (2018): 247 households applied for aid, $375K approved.
Is Hamer at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (61%), and Hamer’s rate for it is in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Hamer.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Hamer’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.