FEMA expects about as much hazard damage per building in Lakewood as in the typical U.S. town, led by river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lakewood gets a B− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 53% of U.S. towns, #100 of 169 in South Carolina. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (49%), then hurricanes (29%). 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 Lakewood 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
Hurricanes
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 Lakewood’s grade
River and rain flooding is 49% of the building damage FEMA expects in Lakewood, and Lakewood’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 66% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 3%, at a rate in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts.
B− #100 of 169 in South Carolina; higher expected damage per building than 53% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Lakewood’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical South Carolina town has lower expected damage than 55% of U.S. towns; within the state, Lakewood has more expected damage per building than 59% of South Carolina towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.1M a year in losses across Lakewood: $706K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Lakewood flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Lakewood. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Lakewood isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Sumter County.The storms Lakewood remembers
None of the 19 disasters declared for Sumter County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Lakewood itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Sumter County has had 19 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.
Lakewood and its neighbors
Lakewood is 2nd of the 3 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sumter | B−more damage than 52% | river and rain flooding | 139 |
| Lakewood | B−more damage than 53% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| South Sumter | B−more damage than 54% | river and rain flooding | — |
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 Lakewood faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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 Lakewood
Is Lakewood at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lakewood has higher expected damage per building than 53% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk, #100 of 169 in South Carolina. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (49%) and hurricanes (29%). 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 Lakewood 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 Sumter County, 20% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Lakewood?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Lakewood’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Lakewood at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (49%), and Lakewood’s rate for it is lower than 66% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lakewood.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Lakewood’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.