Natural hazards · Lanham

Lanham, MD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lanham comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 8 claims here since 2003. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Lanham?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lanham to be higher than in 8% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding52%Earthquakes11%Heat waves10%Tornadoes9%Hurricanes8%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Lanham faces

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

Inland flooding

52% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 16% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

11% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Heat waves

10% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 32% of U.S. places

Hurricanes

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 11 years in the area

Lower here

HailIce 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 Lanham flood?

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

8paid claims since 2003

$58Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20032026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Irene: 1 claim, $5K

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Prince George's County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Lanham

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into LanhamDeclared for Prince George's County only

2003

Hurricane Isabel

69 households applied for aid $96K aid approved

Prince George's County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and hurricanes.

Around Lanham

Lanham and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Seabrookmostly inland floodingVery low

Mitchellvillemostly inland floodingVery low

Springdalemostly inland floodingVery low

Lanhammostly inland floodingVery low

Glenn Dalemostly 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. Lanham covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Lanham’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Lanham. 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 Lanham total about $1.3M 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.