Moving to Charleston & the Lowcountry
This region's eleven places converge on Charleston International Airport and Interstate 26, with real, distinct flood-risk profiles ranging from the peninsula's well-documented tidal flooding to Walterboro's comparatively minor inland exposure.
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Learn moreCharleston International Airport and I-26
Charleston International Airport (CHS), physically located in North Charleston, serves this entire region. Interstate 26 runs the primary spine connecting Charleston/North Charleston through Summerville and Goose Creek toward Columbia and the Midlands, while US-17 connects the coastal member places (Mount Pleasant, Johns Island, Folly Beach) along the coast.
A Real, Wide Range of Flood and Storm-Surge Exposure
Flood risk varies genuinely across this region rather than applying uniformly: Mount Pleasant discloses 99% of buildings at some level of flood risk with all 21 census tracts flagged; Charleston's peninsula experiences well-documented 'sunny day' tidal flooding (51 events in 2025 alone) independent of any storm; Johns Island has begun a $5.8 million flood-mitigation project after repeated drainage-basin flooding cut off a neighborhood's single entry road. By contrast, Summerville's own flood risk reads as 'minor' (First Street Foundation), and Walterboro, well inland, carries essentially no direct storm-surge exposure at all.
Hurricane Hugo as the Region's Shared Benchmark Storm
Hurricane Hugo's September 1989 Category 4 landfall at Sullivan's Island remains this region's shared historical benchmark, though its impact varied meaningfully by member place -- catastrophic on the barrier islands and peninsula, comparatively survivable in higher-elevation Goose Creek (mostly broken windows and downed trees, among the first areas in the Lowcountry to regain power), and primarily tree-and-structural damage rather than direct surge in inland Summerville.
Key takeaways
- Charleston International Airport (CHS) and Interstate 26 serve this entire region; US-17 connects the coastal member places.
- Flood risk varies genuinely by member place -- from Mount Pleasant's 99%-of-buildings exposure to Walterboro's comparatively minor inland risk.
- Hurricane Hugo (1989) remains this region's shared benchmark storm, though its documented impact varied sharply by elevation and distance from the coast.
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