Photo: Bernardgeorgeh · CC BY-SA 4.0FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in White Knoll than in 60% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, White Knoll gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 60% of U.S. towns, #66 of 169 in South Carolina. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (62%), then hurricanes (17%). 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 White Knoll 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
Hurricanes
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 White Knoll’s grade
River and rain flooding is 62% of the building damage FEMA expects in White Knoll, and White Knoll’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 61% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 3%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
B #66 of 169 in South Carolina; lower expected damage per building than 60% of U.S. towns (21,298).
White Knoll’s residents live in 4 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, White Knoll has less expected damage per building than 61% of South Carolina towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.0M a year in losses across White Knoll: $1.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does White Knoll flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in White Knoll. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
White Knoll isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Lexington County.The storms White Knoll remembers
None of the 17 disasters declared for Lexington County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching White Knoll itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Lexington County has had 17 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.
White Knoll and its neighbors
White Knoll has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Knoll | Bless damage than 60% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Red Bank | Bless damage than 58% | river and rain flooding | — |
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 White Knoll 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.
- 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.
- 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 White Knoll
Is White Knoll at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, White Knoll has lower expected damage per building than 60% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk, #66 of 169 in South Carolina. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (62%) and hurricanes (17%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is White Knoll 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 Lexington County, 67% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in White Knoll?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for White Knoll’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is White Knoll at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (62%), and White Knoll’s rate for it is lower than 61% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in White Knoll.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where White Knoll’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.