Rehoboth Beach’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Rehoboth Beach comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 75 claims here since 1979. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Rehoboth Beach’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
What Rehoboth Beach faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Coastal flooding
Hurricanes
Does Rehoboth Beach flood? Sometimes: 75 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Rehoboth Beach, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Sandy4 claims · $35K
- Hurricane Gloria3 claims · $51K
- The December Storm - nor’easter2 claims · $4K
Rehoboth Beach is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 8) for its flood-proofing work.
Insurance rates: Sussex County.7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Rehoboth Beach
Disasters that paid out in Rehoboth Beach itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Rehoboth Beach) and its biggest flood years.
- 2026Severe Winter Storm$70K to the City of Rehoboth Beach for repairs
- 2016Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$941K to the City of Rehoboth Beach for repairs
- 2012Hurricane Sandy$21K to the City of Rehoboth Beach for repairs7 flood claims paid that year
- 2011Hurricane Irene$21K to the City of Rehoboth Beach for repairs
- 2010Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorms$33K to the City of Rehoboth Beach for repairs
- 2003Hurricane Isabel2 households applied for aid$14K to the City of Rehoboth Beach for repairs
Show all 9
- 2003Snow$13K to the City of Rehoboth Beach for repairs
- 199819 flood claims paidOne of the three biggest flood years on record
- 199224 flood claims paidThe most in any one year on record
Sussex County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and hurricanes.
Old photos of Rehoboth Beach after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Rehoboth Beach archive →How exposed is Rehoboth Beach?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 53% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and coastal flooding.
Rated higher than 64 of the 79 Delaware towns we cover.
Rehoboth Beach covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.
Get ready for what Rehoboth Beach actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Know your evacuation zone and the way off the coast.
- Storm surge comes fast: leave when you’re told, not when the water arrives.
- Move cars to high ground before king tides and nor’easters.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
- Rehoboth Beach residents get 10% off flood insurance.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Rehoboth Beach and its neighbors
How storm and flood risk compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Rating | Mostly | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henlopen Acres | High | coastal flooding | 6 |
| Rehoboth Beach | Moderate | inland flooding | 75 |
Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Most disasters here begin in January–February
The month each of Sussex County’s 16 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Rehoboth Beach’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Rehoboth Beach.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels. Across Rehoboth Beach, expected losses total about $3.6M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Rehoboth Beach.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.