Most disaster-prone counties in South Carolina
South Carolina has 1,175 county-level FEMA disaster declarations across 46 counties. The dominant hazard type is hurricane. Horry County leads with 34 declarations, followed by Orangeburg County and Berkeley County.
This ranking shows every county in South Carolina ordered by how many times FEMA has issued a disaster declaration affecting it. Counties near coastlines, river systems, or wildfire corridors tend to appear at the top because the same geographic exposure produces recurring events across decades.
Each county links to a full disaster history page with the complete declaration timeline, hazard type breakdown, decade trends, and whatever FEMA spending data is available. For a national view, see the most disaster-prone counties in America page.
All counties by FEMA declaration count
| # | County | Declarations | Top hazard | First year | Latest year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Horry County | 34 | Hurricane | 1989 | 2026 |
| 2 | Orangeburg County | 31 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |
| 3 | Berkeley County | 30 | Hurricane | 1989 | 2026 |
| 4 | Calhoun County | 30 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |
| 5 | Georgetown County | 30 | Hurricane | 1989 | 2026 |
| 6 | Williamsburg County | 30 | Hurricane | 1989 | 2026 |
| 7 | Dillon County | 29 | Hurricane | 1989 | 2026 |
| 8 | Bamberg County | 28 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |
| 9 | Colleton County | 28 | Hurricane | 1989 | 2026 |
| 10 | Florence County | 28 | Hurricane | 1989 | 2026 |
| 11 | Kershaw County | 28 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |
| 12 | Marion County | 28 | Hurricane | 1989 | 2026 |
| 13 | Sumter County | 28 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |
| 14 | Barnwell County | 27 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |
| 15 | Charleston County | 27 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |
| 16 | Chesterfield County | 26 | Hurricane | 1984 | 2026 |
| 17 | Clarendon County | 26 | Hurricane | 1989 | 2026 |
| 18 | Darlington County | 26 | Hurricane | 1989 | 2026 |
| 19 | Dorchester County | 26 | Hurricane | 1989 | 2026 |
| 20 | Marlboro County | 26 | Hurricane | 1984 | 2026 |
| 21 | Richland County | 26 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |
| 22 | Allendale County | 25 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |
| 23 | Greenville County | 25 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |
| 24 | Hampton County | 25 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |
| 25 | Lee County | 25 | Hurricane | 1989 | 2026 |
| 26 | Lexington County | 25 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |
| 27 | Pickens County | 25 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |
| 28 | Spartanburg County | 25 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |
| 29 | Aiken County | 24 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |
| 30 | Beaufort County | 24 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |
| 31 | Cherokee County | 24 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |
| 32 | Jasper County | 24 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |
| 33 | Lancaster County | 24 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |
| 34 | Newberry County | 24 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |
| 35 | Chester County | 23 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |
| 36 | Fairfield County | 23 | Hurricane | 1984 | 2026 |
| 37 | Laurens County | 23 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |
| 38 | Oconee County | 23 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |
| 39 | Union County | 23 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |
| 40 | Edgefield County | 22 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |
| 41 | Saluda County | 22 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |
| 42 | York County | 22 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |
| 43 | Abbeville County | 21 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |
| 44 | Anderson County | 21 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |
| 45 | McCormick County | 21 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |
| 46 | Greenwood County | 20 | Hurricane | 1977 | 2026 |