Photo: Evanoco · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Timmonsville faces more hazard damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns, led by hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Timmonsville gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (44%), then river and rain flooding (28%). 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 Timmonsville 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
Earthquakes
Tornadoes
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 Timmonsville’s grade
Hurricanes are 44% of the building damage FEMA expects in Timmonsville, and Timmonsville’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 28% (lower than 83% of U.S. census tracts).
C higher expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Timmonsville’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.1M a year in losses across Timmonsville: $788K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Timmonsville flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Timmonsville. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Timmonsville isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Florence County.7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Timmonsville
Disasters that paid out in Timmonsville itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Timmonsville), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2018Hurricane Florence43 households applied for aid$27K aid approved
- 2016Hurricane Matthew489 households applied for aid$342K aid approved$10K to the Town of Timmonsville for repairs
- 2015Severe Storms and Flooding827 households applied for aid$566K aid approved$10K to the Town of Timmonsville for repairs
- 2004Tropical Storm Frances230 households applied for aid$103K aid approved
- 2004Severe Ice Storm$9K to the Town of Timmonsville for repairs
- 2000Severe Winter Storm$5K to the Town of Timmonsville for repairs
Show all 7
- 1999Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations$7K to the Town of Timmonsville for repairs
Florence 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 Timmonsville after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Timmonsville archive →Get ready for what Timmonsville 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
- 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 Timmonsville
Is Timmonsville at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Timmonsville has higher expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (44%) and river and rain flooding (28%). 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 Timmonsville 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 Florence County, 29% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.9% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Timmonsville?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Timmonsville’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 Timmonsville?
By FEMA money that reached Timmonsville, Severe Storms and Flooding (2015): 827 households applied for aid, $566K approved, and $10K to the Town of Timmonsville for repairs.
Is Timmonsville at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (44%), and Timmonsville’s rate for it is in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Timmonsville.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Timmonsville’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.