Natural hazards · Chester

Chester, MD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Chester comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Chester?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding44%Coastal flooding12%Hurricanes12%Tornadoes7%Heat waves7%Strong wind6%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Chester faces

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

Inland flooding

44% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 7% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Coastal flooding

12% of expected damage

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

Hurricanes

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 46% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 96 years in the area

Heat waves

7% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 4% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Chester flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Chester.

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Queen Anne's County.

Disasters that hit Chester

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ChesterDeclared for Queen Anne's County only

2003

Hurricane Isabel

115 households applied for aid $212K aid approved

Queen Anne's County has had 14 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and hurricanes.

Around Chester

Chester and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Kent Narrowsmostly coastal floodingLow

Chestermostly inland floodingVery low

Stevensvillemostly 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. Chester is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

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

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.