Cypress Methodist Camp Ground · Photo: Ashley Roberson · CC BY-SA 3.0More hazard damage per building is expected in Ridgeville than in 97% of U.S. towns, mostly from hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Ridgeville gets a D− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (61%), then earthquakes (20%). 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 Ridgeville faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
Earthquakes
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 Ridgeville’s grade
Hurricanes are 61% of the building damage FEMA expects in Ridgeville, and Ridgeville’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 2%, at a rate in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.
D− higher expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Ridgeville’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.5M a year in losses across Ridgeville: $1.1M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Ridgeville flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Ridgeville. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Ridgeville isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Dorchester County.5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Ridgeville
Disasters that paid out in Ridgeville itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Ridgeville), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2020Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Straight-line Winds9 households applied for aid$17K aid approved
- 2016Hurricane Matthew151 households applied for aid$236K aid approved
- 2015Severe Storms and Flooding563 households applied for aid$542K aid approved
- 2014Severe Winter Storm$5K to the Town of Ridgeville for repairs
- 2004Tropical Storm Frances4 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
Dorchester County has had 15 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 Ridgeville after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Ridgeville archive →Get ready for what Ridgeville 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Ridgeville
Is Ridgeville at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Ridgeville has higher expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (61%) and earthquakes (20%). 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 Ridgeville 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 Dorchester County, 71% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 5.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Ridgeville?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Ridgeville’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 Ridgeville?
By FEMA money that reached Ridgeville, Severe Storms and Flooding (2015): 563 households applied for aid, $542K approved.
Is Ridgeville at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (61%), and Ridgeville’s rate for it is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Ridgeville.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Ridgeville’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.