Flood Help Guide

Horry County flood history

South Carolina · From FEMA's flood insurance and disaster data · Updated 2026-10-08

12,525NFIP flood claims since 1978
$338.2 millionPaid on those claims
$67,111Average paid claimlast 10 years
14.6%Homes with NFIP flood insurance
$640Typical yearly NFIP costsingle-family home
6Flood disaster declarationssince 2000

FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) data lists 12,525 flood insurance claims in Horry County, South Carolina since 1978. The NFIP paid $338.2 million on them (building, contents and Increased Cost of Compliance payments, in the dollars of the year paid).

The year with the most claims was 1989, with 3,286, mostly from Hurricane Hugo.

In the last ten years (2017–2026) there were 2,270 claims, and the average paid claim was $67,111.

23% of the claims with a recorded flood zone came from buildings outside FEMA's high-risk zones (rated zones B, C and X).

About 14.6% of homes in Horry County, South Carolina had an NFIP flood policy in FEMA's latest count (20,388 of 139,337 residential buildings).

Since 2000, FEMA has made 6 flood-related disaster declarations covering Horry County, South Carolina. The most recent was DR-4835-SC (Tropical Storm Debby), declared September 29, 2024.

NFIP claims by year

NFIP flood claims per year in Horry County, South Carolina01.2k2.5k3.8k5k1978: 1 claims, $0 paid1979: 170 claims, $240,979 paid1980: 3 claims, $0 paid19801981: 30 claims, $53,224 paid1982: 8 claims, $1,015 paid1983: 65 claims, $327,118 paid1984: 17 claims, $14,725 paid1985: 45 claims, $112,576 paid1986: 123 claims, $759,573 paid1987: 713 claims, $2.7 million paid1988: 4 claims, $13,014 paid1989: 3,286 claims, $118.2 million paid1990: 4 claims, $3,464 paid19901991: 16 claims, $8,864 paid1992: 38 claims, $174,756 paid1993: 162 claims, $850,323 paid1994: 92 claims, $629,246 paid1995: 25 claims, $89,565 paid1996: 790 claims, $2.7 million paid1997: 12 claims, $87,151 paid1998: 630 claims, $1.6 million paid1999: 1,342 claims, $20.0 million paid2000: 74 claims, $555,854 paid20002001: 86 claims, $836,746 paid2002: 4 claims, $4,507 paid2003: 35 claims, $300,726 paid2004: 51 claims, $291,873 paid2005: 24 claims, $141,873 paid2006: 7 claims, $4,350 paid2007: 8 claims, $78,056 paid2008: 27 claims, $106,646 paid2009: 8 claims, $55,672 paid2010: 31 claims, $192,111 paid20102011: 7 claims, $11,997 paid2012: 10 claims, $40,539 paid2013: 36 claims, $407,053 paid2014: 7 claims, $73,077 paid2015: 821 claims, $13.7 million paid2016: 1,443 claims, $40.6 million paid2017: 19 claims, $288,266 paid2018: 1,041 claims, $89.7 million paid2019: 52 claims, $732,194 paid2020: 360 claims, $7.4 million paid20202021: 107 claims, $3.1 million paid2022: 540 claims, $26.2 million paid2023: 95 claims, $3.4 million paid2024: 45 claims, $948,687 paid2025: 9 claims, $426,181 paid2026: 2 claims, $16,270 paid
Claims per year of loss. Hover or tap a bar for details.
Show as a table
YearClaimsPaid
20262$16,270
20259$426,181
202445$948,687
202395$3.4 million
2022540$26.2 million
2021107$3.1 million
2020360$7.4 million
201952$732,194
20181,041$89.7 million
201719$288,266
20161,443$40.6 million
2015821$13.7 million
20147$73,077
201336$407,053
201210$40,539
20117$11,997
201031$192,111
20098$55,672
200827$106,646
20078$78,056
20067$4,350
200524$141,873
200451$291,873
200335$300,726
20024$4,507
200186$836,746
200074$555,854
19991,342$20.0 million
1998630$1.6 million
199712$87,151
1996790$2.7 million
199525$89,565
199492$629,246
1993162$850,323
199238$174,756
199116$8,864
19904$3,464
19893,286$118.2 million
19884$13,014
1987713$2.7 million
1986123$759,573
198545$112,576
198417$14,725
198365$327,118
19828$1,015
198130$53,224
19803$0
1979170$240,979
19781$0

Named flood events

EventYearClaimsPaid
Hurricane Hugo19893,260$118.1 million
Hurricane Florence2018976$88.4 million
Hurricane Matthew20161,356$39.8 million
Hurricane Ian2022474$22.2 million
Hurricane Floyd19991,237$18.7 million
October severe storms2015758$13.1 million
Hurricane Isaias2020279$5.5 million
Flooding1987631$2.4 million

How many homes have flood insurance

FEMA counts 20,388 residential NFIP policies in Horry County, against 139,337 residential buildings (14.6%). Private flood policies aren't in these counts.

Whether you're required to carry flood insurance depends on your flood zone and your mortgage. See do I need flood insurance?

What flood insurance costs in Horry County

On June 30, 2026, 52,513 NFIP flood insurance policies were in force in Horry County, South Carolina. For the 17,601 single-family homes among them, the typical (median) yearly cost was about $640; the average was $920.

Rated flood zonePoliciesTypical yearly cost, single-family homeAverage costAverage building coverage
High-risk zones (A and V)27,405$1,160$1,690$235,000
Moderate- and low-risk zones (B, C and X)25,108$560$650$242,000

Cost here is what FEMA's data lists as the policy cost: the premium plus the reserve fund assessment, federal policy fee and HFIAA surcharge. It covers single-family homes only (not condos, apartments or businesses), with costs rounded to the nearest $10 and shown only where at least 20 homes back the figure. Your own price depends on your building and the coverage you choose; see how flood insurance is priced. Private flood insurance isn't included.

Flood-related disaster declarations

DeclarationDeclaredEventHelp for individuals
DR-4835-SC Sep 29, 2024 Tropical Storm Debby No
EM-3619-SC Sep 26, 2024 Hurricane Helene No
EM-3606-SC Aug 5, 2024 Hurricane Debby No
EM-3597-SC Aug 31, 2023 Hurricane Idalia No
DR-4241-SC Oct 5, 2015 Severe Storms and Flooding Yes
EM-3373-SC Oct 3, 2015 Severe Storms and Flooding No

Check your own address

County numbers can't tell you about a single building. Look up your property on FEMA's flood map, then read what your flood zone means. More counties: all of South Carolina.

Where these numbers come from

All figures on this page are calculated from FEMA's public OpenFEMA datasets:

FEMA's redacted claims data doesn't identify properties, and FEMA notes that some records lack a county or flood zone. See how we use the data.