FEMA expects about as much hazard damage per building in Mayo as in the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Mayo gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 55% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (81%). 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 Mayo 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
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 Mayo’s grade
River and rain flooding is 81% of the building damage FEMA expects in Mayo, and Mayo’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 62% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 4%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
B lower expected damage per building than 55% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Mayo’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $368K a year in losses across Mayo: $274K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Mayo flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Mayo. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Mayo isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Spartanburg County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Mayo
Disasters that paid out in Mayo itself (aid to households or repair grants to Mayo), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Hurricane Helene37 households applied for aid$20K aid approved
Spartanburg 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 Mayo after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Mayo archive →Get ready for what Mayo 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.
- 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 Mayo
Is Mayo at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Mayo has lower expected damage per building than 55% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (81%) and earthquakes (6%). 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 Mayo 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 Spartanburg County, 34% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Mayo?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Mayo’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 Mayo?
By FEMA money that reached Mayo, Hurricane Helene (2024): 37 households applied for aid, $20K approved.
Is Mayo at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (81%), and Mayo’s rate for it is higher than 62% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Mayo.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Mayo’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.