Allen’s biggest natural hazard is hurricanes
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Allen comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Allen’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
What Allen faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
Inland flooding
Coastal flooding
Wildfire
How exposed is Allen?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 58% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.
Rated higher than 508 of the 536 Maryland towns we cover.
Allen is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
Does Allen flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Allen. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Allen isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Wicomico County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Allen
Disasters that paid out in Allen itself (aid to households or repair grants to Allen) and its biggest flood years.
- 2003Hurricane Isabel1 household applied for aid$5K aid approved
Wicomico County has had 10 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and hurricanes.
Old photos of Allen after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Allen archive →Get ready for what Allen actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Allen 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allen | Moderate | hurricanes | 0 |
| Eden | Moderate | hurricanes | 0 |
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–March
The month each of Wicomico County’s 10 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 Allen’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Allen.
- 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.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Allen.
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. Weather alerts: National Weather Service. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.