Natural hazards · Derwood

Derwood, MD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Derwood 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 Derwood?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Derwood to be higher than in 1% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding51%Hurricanes14%Earthquakes9%Heat waves7%Everything else19%

By hazard

What Derwood faces

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

Inland flooding

51% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

14% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Earthquakes

9% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 50% of U.S. places

Heat waves

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Derwood flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Montgomery County.

Disasters that hit Derwood

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into DerwoodDeclared for Montgomery County only

2003

Hurricane Isabel

13 households applied for aid $6K aid approved

Montgomery County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and severe storms.

Around Derwood

Derwood and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Redlandmostly inland floodingVery low

Derwoodmostly 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. Derwood 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 Derwood’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Derwood. 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.