Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Ware Shoals

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
WareshoalsmillPhoto: Bill shannon 2001 at English Wikipedia · Public domain
B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Ware Shoals · FEMA

FEMA puts Ware Shoals’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 67% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Ware Shoals gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (69%), then earthquakes (10%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 69%Earthquakes 10%Tornadoes 8%

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

less than 67%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
B+
in South Carolina · lower than 67% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
69% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
2
of 13 declared for Greenwood County
By hazard

What Ware Shoals 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

69%of expected building damage
About average · lower than 59% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 1 years in the area

Earthquakes

10%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. census tracts

Tornadoes

8%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. census tracts

Hurricanes

5%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 16 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Ice storms Hail Strong wind Wildfire Lightning Winter storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 28% of Ware Shoals’ expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Ware Shoals’ grade

River and rain flooding is 69% of the building damage FEMA expects in Ware Shoals, and Ware Shoals’ rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 59% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 5%, at a rate in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Ware Shoals sits
Ware Shoals
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ lower expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Ware Shoals’ residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding69%Earthquakes10%Tornadoes8%Everything else13%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $757K a year in losses across Ware Shoals: $403K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Recent disaster.FEMA’s model looks at expected damage to the buildings standing today. After Hurricane Helene in 2024, FEMA took 1,280 aid registrations from Ware Shoals addresses (the town has 1,020 homes).
Shared tract.All of Ware Shoals’ 1,701 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Hodges town (162 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Ware Shoals flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Ware Shoals. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Ware Shoals isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Greenwood County.
Disasters

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Ware Shoals

Disasters that paid out in Ware Shoals itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Ware Shoals), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2024Hurricane Helene1,280 households applied for aid$773K aid approved$59K to the Town of Ware Shoals for repairs
  2. 2015Severe Storms and Flooding9 households applied for aid$7K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Ware ShoalsGreenwood County only

Greenwood County has had 13 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

Old photos of Ware Shoals after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Ware Shoals archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Ware Shoals faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Earthquakes
  • Drop, cover and hold on.
  • Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
  • Know how to shut off the gas.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Tornado warnings
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Hurricane season
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Ware Shoals

Is Ware Shoals at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Ware Shoals has lower expected damage per building than 67% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (69%) and earthquakes (10%). 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 Ware Shoals 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 Greenwood County, 30% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.2% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Ware Shoals?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Ware Shoals’ 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 Ware Shoals?

By FEMA money that reached Ware Shoals, Hurricane Helene (2024): 1,280 households applied for aid, $773K approved, and $59K to the Town of Ware Shoals for repairs.

Is Ware Shoals at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (69%), and Ware Shoals’ rate for it is lower than 59% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Ware Shoals.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Ware Shoals’ 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.