Withers Building · Photo: Jack Boucher · Public domainFEMA puts Lesslie’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 71% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lesslie gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 71% of U.S. towns, #38 of 169 in South Carolina. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (77%). 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 Lesslie 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
Tornadoes
Ice storms
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 Lesslie’s grade
River and rain flooding is 77% of the building damage FEMA expects in Lesslie, and Lesslie’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 54% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 6%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
B+ #38 of 169 in South Carolina; lower expected damage per building than 71% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Lesslie’s residents live in 3 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, Lesslie has less expected damage per building than 78% of South Carolina towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.1M a year in losses across Lesslie: $707K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Lesslie flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Lesslie. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Lesslie isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: York County.The storms Lesslie remembers
None of the 16 disasters declared for York County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Lesslie itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
York County has had 16 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.
Lesslie and its neighbors
Lesslie is 2nd of the 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rock Hill | A−less damage than 78% | river and rain flooding | 10 |
| Lesslie | B+less damage than 71% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
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 Lesslie 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Lesslie
Is Lesslie at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lesslie has lower expected damage per building than 71% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk, #38 of 169 in South Carolina. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (77%) and tornadoes (9%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Lesslie 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 York County, 48% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Lesslie?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Lesslie’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Lesslie at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (77%), and Lesslie’s rate for it is lower than 54% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lesslie.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Lesslie’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.