Friendsville is calmer than 88% of U.S. communities
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Friendsville comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 1994. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Friendsville’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
How exposed is Friendsville?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 12% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.
Rated higher than 319 of the 536 Maryland towns we cover.
Friendsville is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
What Friendsville faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Cold waves
Hurricanes
Does Friendsville flood? Rarely: 6 flood claims since 1994
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Friendsville, from FEMA’s records.
Friendsville isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Garrett County.2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Friendsville
Disasters that paid out in Friendsville itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Friendsville) and its biggest flood years.
- 2016Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$5K to the Town of Friendsville for repairs
- 2010Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorms$5K to the Town of Friendsville for repairs
Garrett County has had 11 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and hurricanes.
Old photos of Friendsville after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Friendsville archive →Get ready for what Friendsville actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
- Know where your water shutoff is.
- Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
- 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.
- 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.
Most disasters here begin in January–March
The month each of Garrett County’s 11 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 Friendsville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Friendsville.
- 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 Friendsville.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.