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Natural hazards · Baltimore

Baltimore, MD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Baltimore comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 763 claims here since 1978. 10 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Baltimore?

10
Very low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Baltimore to be higher than in 10% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and heat waves.

Inland flooding39%Heat waves28%Cold waves9%Tornadoes7%Hurricanes7%Earthquakes5%Everything else5%
By hazard

What Baltimore faces

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

Inland flooding

39% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 19% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Heat waves

28% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 27% of U.S. places
Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Cold waves

9% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 43% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 35% of U.S. places

Hurricanes

7% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Earthquakes

5% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 55% of U.S. places

Lower here

Coastal floodingHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

DroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Baltimore flood?

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

763paid claims since 1978
$27.4Mpaid to owners
73homes flooded more than once
19782026

Biggest named events

  • Hurricane Isabel: 149 claims, $8.3M
  • Mid-spring storms: 39 claims, $3.1M
  • Hurricane Sandy: 13 claims, $40K

Homes that flooded again and again

Each house = 2 homes. ■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (12) ■ flooded 2+ times

of all homes
are insured
🏷️ 25% off flood insurance. Baltimore is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 5) for its flood-proofing work.
Insurance rates: the county.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

35homes raised above flood level
9flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
1buildings floodproofed
Disasters that hit Baltimore

10 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Baltimore itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the City of Baltimore.

Brought FEMA money into BaltimoreDeclared for the county only
2016

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$7.8M to the City of Baltimore for repairs
2012

Hurricane Sandy

$2.8M to the City of Baltimore for repairs
2012

Severe Storms and Straight-Line Winds

$1.9M to the City of Baltimore for repairs
2011

Hurricane Irene

$1.3M to the City of Baltimore for repairs
2010

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorms

$5.9M to the City of Baltimore for repairs
2009

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$1.3M to the City of Baltimore for repairs
2005

Hurricane Katrina Evacuation

$95K to the City of Baltimore for repairs
2003

Hurricane Isabel

1,683 households applied for aid $2.4M aid approved $4.4M to the City of Baltimore for repairs
2003

Snow

$700K to the City of Baltimore for repairs
2000

Severe Winter Storm

$831K to the City of Baltimore for repairs
the county has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and hurricanes.
Around Baltimore

Baltimore and the towns around it

Rosedale: Very low, mostly inland floodingPikesville: Very low, mostly inland floodingDundalk: Very low, mostly heat wavesTowson: Very low, mostly inland floodingWoodlawn: Very low, mostly inland floodingBrooklyn Park: Very low, mostly inland floodingArbutus: Very low, mostly inland floodingParkville: Very low, mostly inland floodingPasadena: Very low, mostly inland floodingLochearn: Low, mostly inland floodingCatonsville: Very low, mostly inland floodingBaltimore Highlands: Very low, mostly heat wavesEssex: Very low, mostly heat wavesRossville: Very low, mostly inland floodingOverlea: Very low, mostly heat wavesMiddle River: Very low, mostly inland floodingGarrison: Very low, mostly inland floodingRandallstown: Very low, mostly inland floodingEdgemere: Very low, mostly inland floodingHampton: Very low, mostly inland floodingMays Chapel: Very low, mostly inland floodingLutherville: Very low, mostly inland floodingEllicott City: Very low, mostly inland floodingMilford Mill: Very low, mostly inland floodingLinthicum: Very low, mostly inland floodingGlen Burnie: Very low, mostly inland floodingFerndale: Very low, mostly inland floodingElkridge: Very low, mostly inland floodingLansdowne: Very low, mostly heat wavesIlchester: Very low, mostly inland floodingCarney: Very low, mostly heat wavesSeverna Park: Very low, mostly inland floodingRiviera Beach: Very low, mostly inland floodingLake Shore: Very low, mostly inland floodingBaltimore: Very low, mostly inland flooding BaltimoreRosedalePikesvilleDundalkTowsonWoodlawnBrooklyn ParkArbutusParkvillePasadenaLochearnCatonsvilleBaltimore Highlands
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Lochearnmostly inland floodingLow
Rosedalemostly inland floodingVery low
Baltimoremostly inland floodingVery low
Brooklyn Parkmostly inland floodingVery low
Parkvillemostly inland floodingVery low
Towsonmostly inland floodingVery low
Woodlawnmostly inland floodingVery low
Pikesvillemostly inland floodingVery low
Arbutusmostly inland floodingVery low
Baltimore Highlandsmostly heat wavesVery low
Dundalkmostly heat wavesVery low
Catonsvillemostly inland floodingVery low
Pasadenamostly inland floodingVery low
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. Baltimore covers 199 census tracts, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Baltimore’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Baltimore. 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 Baltimore total about $136M 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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