Dorchester, SC
Dorchester County in South Carolina has 16 FEMA disaster declarations on record covering 1989–2023, most recently Hurricane Idalia on Aug 31, 2023 (DR-3597). Its flood risk grade is A (Low risk), ranking #1334 of 3,277 U.S. counties, with 103 NFIP flood insurance claims totaling $2,362,610 in payouts. Flood risk is relatively low compared to the national average.
FEMA Disaster Declarations in Dorchester County
The 16 most recent federally declared disasters affecting Dorchester County, SC (1989–2023). Total declarations on record: 16.
| Declared | Incident Type | Title | FEMA Disaster # |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31, 2023 | Hurricane | Hurricane Idalia | DR-3597 |
| Nov 21, 2022 | Hurricane | Hurricane Ian | DR-4677 |
| Sep 29, 2022 | Hurricane | Hurricane Ian | DR-3585 |
| Sep 30, 2019 | Hurricane | Hurricane Dorian | DR-4464 |
| Sep 1, 2019 | Hurricane | Hurricane Dorian | DR-3421 |
| Sep 16, 2018 | Hurricane | Hurricane Florence | DR-4394 |
| Sep 10, 2018 | Hurricane | Hurricane Florence | DR-3400 |
| Oct 16, 2017 | Hurricane | Hurricane Irma | DR-4346 |
| Sep 7, 2017 | Hurricane | Hurricane Irma | DR-3386 |
| Oct 11, 2016 | Hurricane | Hurricane Matthew | DR-4286 |
| Oct 6, 2016 | Hurricane | Hurricane Matthew | DR-3378 |
| Oct 5, 2015 | Flood | Severe Storms and Flooding | DR-4241 |
| Sep 10, 2005 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | DR-3233 |
| Sep 21, 1999 | Hurricane | Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations | DR-1299 |
| Sep 15, 1999 | Hurricane | Hurricane Floyd Emergency Declarations | DR-3145 |
| Sep 22, 1989 | Hurricane | Hurricane Hugo | DR-843 |
Score Breakdown
The composite score of 11 is calculated from four weighted factors. See our methodology for details.
Other Counties in South Carolina
| County | Grade | Score | Claims | Disasters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berkeley | A | 11 | 57 | 18 |
| Jasper | A | 11 | 10 | 15 |
| Marion | A | 11 | 81 | 18 |
| Orangeburg | A | 11 | 16 | 18 |
| Florence | A | 12 | 46 | 17 |
| Catawba Indian Nation | A | 12 | 0 | 8 |
More Counties in South Carolina
Frequently Asked Questions
How many FEMA disaster declarations does Dorchester County, SC have?
Dorchester County, SC has 16 federal disaster declarations on FEMA record (1989–2023). The 5 most recent are: Hurricane Idalia (declared Aug 31, 2023, DR-3597); Hurricane Ian (declared Nov 21, 2022, DR-4677); Hurricane Ian (declared Sep 29, 2022, DR-3585); Hurricane Dorian (declared Sep 30, 2019, DR-4464); Hurricane Dorian (declared Sep 1, 2019, DR-3421). Counts include flood, severe storm, hurricane, and coastal storm declarations from the OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries dataset.
What is the flood risk grade for Dorchester County, SC?
Dorchester County is graded A (composite score 11/100, low risk). It ranks #1334 of 3,277 U.S. counties for flood risk in our scoring model. The grade combines NFIP claims density (40%), disaster frequency (25%), claim severity (20%), and year-over-year trend (15%).
How many NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Dorchester County?
103 NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Dorchester County, SC, totaling $2,362,610 in payouts. The average claim is $22,938. Source: FEMA FimaNfipClaims v2 dataset.
Has Dorchester County, SC had any recent flood disasters?
Yes. The most recent FEMA declaration affecting Dorchester County was Hurricane Idalia on Aug 31, 2023 (DR-3597). The county has 16 declared disasters in the OpenFEMA record covering 1989–2023.
The this entity record above pulls directly from FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims. What follows is the per-entity context — how this entity sits in the broader U.S. flood risk, NFIP claims, and disaster declarations distribution and which underlying factors drive the headline numbers.
The methodology behind every numeric value on this page is publicly documented on the FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims portal and described in detail on this site’s methodology page. Refresh cadence varies by underlying series; the page surfaces the as-of date for each number so readers can trace any figure back to the source release.
For readers using this page as a decision input, the related-entity pages elsewhere on the site provide the comparison set. The most useful comparison for this entity is typically a peer within U.S. ZIPs, counties, and states with similar size, similar exposure, or similar geography — not the national-level summary alone.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA datasets, 2026.