Natural hazards · Cambridge

Cambridge, MD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cambridge comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 58 claims here since 1979. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Cambridge?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cambridge to be higher than in 13% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes27%Inland flooding22%Cold waves10%Coastal flooding10%Heat waves9%Tornadoes8%Everything else16%

By hazard

What Cambridge faces

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

Hurricanes

27% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Inland flooding

22% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 2% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Coastal flooding

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Heat waves

9% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 3% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 42% of U.S. places

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Cambridge flood?

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

58paid claims since 1979

$1.1Mpaid to owners

4homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Isabel: 37 claims, $888K
Hurricane Fran: 2 claims, $6K
Hurricane Floyd: 2 claims, $8K

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. Cambridge isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Dorchester County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2homes raised above flood level

Disasters that hit Cambridge

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CambridgeDeclared for Dorchester County only

2012

Hurricane Sandy

$31K to the City of Cambridge for repairs

2011

Hurricane Irene

$28K to the City of Cambridge for repairs

2010

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorms

$30K to the City of Cambridge for repairs

2003

Hurricane Isabel

288 households applied for aid $547K aid approved $115K to the City of Cambridge for repairs

2003

Snow

$9K to the City of Cambridge for repairs

2000

Severe Winter Storm

$10K to the City of Cambridge for repairs

Dorchester 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. Cambridge covers 3 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Cambridge’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Cambridge. 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 Cambridge total about $2.7M 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.