White House United Methodist Church · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0On FEMA’s figures, Wilkinson Heights faces more hazard damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns, led by hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Wilkinson Heights gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (42%), then river and rain flooding (27%). 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 Wilkinson Heights 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
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 Wilkinson Heights’ grade
Hurricanes are 42% of the building damage FEMA expects in Wilkinson Heights, and Wilkinson Heights’ rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 27% (lower than 89% of U.S. census tracts).
C higher expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Wilkinson Heights’ residents live in 4 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.2M a year in losses across Wilkinson Heights: $909K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Wilkinson Heights flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Wilkinson Heights. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Wilkinson Heights isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Orangeburg County.The storms Wilkinson Heights remembers
None of the 20 disasters declared for Orangeburg County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Wilkinson Heights itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Orangeburg County has had 20 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.
Wilkinson Heights and its neighbors
Wilkinson Heights is 2nd of the 3 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brookdale | C+more damage than 62% | hurricanes | — |
| Wilkinson Heights | Cmore damage than 69% | hurricanes | 0 |
| Orangeburg | Cmore damage than 74% | hurricanes | 28 |
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 Wilkinson Heights 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.
- 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 Wilkinson Heights
Is Wilkinson Heights at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Wilkinson Heights has higher expected damage per building than 69% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (42%) and river and rain flooding (27%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Wilkinson Heights 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 Orangeburg County, 21% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Wilkinson Heights?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Wilkinson Heights’ flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Wilkinson Heights at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (42%), and Wilkinson Heights’ rate for it is in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Wilkinson Heights.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Wilkinson Heights’ 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.