Natural hazards · Ocean View

Ocean View, DE natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ocean View comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 18 claims here since 1998. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Ocean View?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ocean View to be higher than in 37% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.

Inland flooding40%Hurricanes32%Cold waves14%Coastal flooding9%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Ocean View faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Inland flooding

40% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 21% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

32% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Cold waves

14% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 50% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Coastal flooding

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Ocean View flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Ocean View, from FEMA’s records.

18paid claims since 1998

$164Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19982026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Sandy: 7 claims, $88K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Ocean View isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Sussex County.

Disasters that hit Ocean View

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Ocean View itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the Town of Ocean View.

Brought FEMA money into Ocean ViewDeclared for Sussex County only

2012

Hurricane Sandy

$8K to the Town of Ocean View for repairs

2011

Hurricane Irene

$9K to the Town of Ocean View for repairs

2010

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorms

$8K to the Town of Ocean View for repairs

2003

Hurricane Isabel

2 households applied for aid $4K to the Town of Ocean View for repairs

2003

Snow

$1K to the Town of Ocean View for repairs

Sussex County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and hurricanes.

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Ocean View covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Ocean View’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Ocean View. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Ocean View total about $1.6M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.