Floodplain Management

Topography

The City of Hanahan is in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. While we enjoy all the benefits of having tidal water that runs through it, being low in elevation also poses some challenges. This page will remain dedicated to providing information on the city’s efforts to help residents with these issues. The City has a consultant that works with homeowners.

The City of Hanahan provides assistance to eligible homeowners with the application process to mitigate repetitive flood problems. The Flood Mitigation Assistance and Hazard Mitigation Grant Programs are competitive grant programs, administered by FEMA, that provides funding to states, local communities, federally recognized tribes and territories. Funds can be used for projects that reduce or eliminate the risk of repetitive flood damage to buildings insured by the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA chooses recipients based on the applicant’s ranking of the project and the eligibility and cost-effectiveness of the project. FEMA will select eligible individual flood mitigation project applications on a nationwide competitive basis in the following prioritized order:

Severe Repetitive Loss(SRL)(B)(ii): Projects that will mitigate flood damage to at least 50 percent of structures included in the sub-application that meet the definition of an SRL property: At least two separate NFIP claim payments have been made with the cumulative amount of such claims exceeding the market value of the insured structure.

Repetitive Loss (RL): Projects that will mitigate flood damage to at least 50 percent of structures included in the sub-application that meet the definition of a RL property: Property has incurred flood- related damage on two occasions, in which the cost of the repair, on the average, equaled or exceeded 25 percent of the market value of the structure at the time of each such flood event.

 SRL (B)(i): Projects that will mitigate flood damage to at least 50 percent of structures included in the sub-application that meet the statutory definition of an SRL property: Four or more separate NFIP claims payments have been made with the amount of each claim exceeding $5,000, and with the cumulative amount of claims payments exceeding $20,000.

Eligible projects include acquisition/demolition and elevation. Demolition/rebuild maybe an option with very limited funding and higher cost share, there may be a cost share (up to 25%) involved that eligible homeowners wishing to apply would have to bear the cost for. The are no funds available from the City to help with meeting the cost-share requirements. Download this flyer that gives an overview of the grant process: FEMA Homeowner's Guide to Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. If you are interested, please contact (843) 576-5260 for more details.

Floodplain Management

Floodplain Management assists customers in meeting the requirements of the City of Hanahan’s Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The Building and Codes Department is the contact for all the flood information for the City, including Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), Elevation Certificates (ECs) and Flood Insurance Studies. This office is also responsible for the Community Rating System (CRS) information. CRS is a voluntary program, which, based on activities performed by the community determines a discount from 5 percent to 40 percent on flood insurance rates. The following information can be obtained from the Building & Codes Department

• Flood Map Determinations and an explanation of your risk to flooding
• Copies of Elevation Certificates (ECs)
• Copies of Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs)
• Requirements for Construction in a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA)
• Substantial Damage Determinations
• The City of Hanahan now has Flood Elevation Certificates that can be viewed online. To access, please follow the link: https://www.massivecert.com/hanahan-archive

Please contact the Building & Codes Department at (843) 576-5259 for more information.

Flooding Hazard

There are three water bodies in the City of Hanahan, SC  that are sources of many of the flood losses in the City, namely:  Turkey Creek, the Goose Creek, and the Cooper River.  Several properties that directly border Turkey Creek or are within close proximity to this waterbody have flooded on one or more occasion.  Several properties in relatively close proximity to the Cooper River have also flooded over time.  Flooding of the Goose Creek and/or Turkey Creek also partially contributed to flooding of properties located near the Cooper River.  Tidal influences on these waterways have also contributed to flooding in the City.

The City of Hanahan has experienced multiple severe flood loss events since 1978.  Several of these have been hurricanes (Hugo, Floyd, Matthew) and others have been severe rain storms with significant volumes of rainfall over relatively short time periods, some at the time of astronomical high tides compounding the flood problem.  Specifically, Hurricane Matthew (2016), the major storm of October 1-4, 2015, and the significant high tides of October 24-25, 2008 were severe flood events in the City.

Flood losses in the City of Hanahan have been on the increase over time as a result of more severe and frequent storm events.  The City of Hanahan is working with owners of flooded properties and with other government entities to address the flooding issues within its limits and assist property owners in reducing future flood losses.  Contact the City for more information.

Useful Information

• 1975 City of Hanahan Comprehensive Development Plan 
• 1975 Turkey Creek Watershed Report – Berkeley Hills Phase 1
• 2020 Turkey Creek Flood Risk Management Study Report
• 2022 Letter from Mayor Rainwater
• SimplyFlood.com: Flood Publications and Elevation Certificates Search
• National Flood Insurance Program: Rebuilding Safer and Stronger After a Flood 
• Hanahan Municipal Code of Ordinances – Chapter 22: Flood Damage Prevention