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Natural hazards · Kensington

Kensington, MD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Kensington comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2019. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Kensington?

3
Very low
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Kensington to be higher than in 3% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding58%Hurricanes11%Earthquakes9%Heat waves6%Everything else16%
By hazard

What Kensington faces

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

Inland flooding

58% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 7% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

11% 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 52% of U.S. places

Heat waves

6% 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 Kensington flood?

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

1paid claims since 2019
$3Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
20192026
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Kensington 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 Kensington

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into KensingtonDeclared for Montgomery County only
2016

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$10K to the Town of Kensington for repairs
2012

Severe Storms and Straight-Line Winds

$7K to the Town of Kensington for repairs
2010

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorms

$8K to the Town of Kensington for repairs
2009

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$7K to the Town of Kensington for repairs
2003

Hurricane Isabel

18 households applied for aid $13K aid approved $10K to the Town of Kensington for repairs
2003

Snow

$6K to the Town of Kensington for repairs
2000

Severe Winter Storm

$4K to the Town of Kensington for repairs
Montgomery County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and severe storms.
Around Kensington

Kensington and the towns around it

South Kensington: Very low, mostly inland floodingNorth Kensington: Very low, mostly inland floodingChevy Chase View: Very low, mostly inland floodingBethesda: Very low, mostly inland floodingChevy Chase: Very low, mostly inland floodingNorth Bethesda: Very low, mostly inland floodingForest Glen: Very low, mostly inland floodingSilver Spring: Very low, mostly inland floodingGarrett Park: Very low, mostly inland floodingWheaton: Very low, mostly inland floodingKensington: Very low, mostly inland flooding KensingtonSouth KensingtonNorth KensingtonChevy Chase View
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
South Kensingtonmostly inland floodingVery low
North Kensingtonmostly inland floodingVery low
Chevy Chase Viewmostly inland floodingVery low
Kensingtonmostly 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. Kensington covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Kensington’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Kensington. 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 Kensington total about $357K 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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