Natural hazards · Leonardtown

Leonardtown, MD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Leonardtown comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 1979. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Leonardtown?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Leonardtown to be higher than in 9% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.

Inland flooding38%Hurricanes24%Strong wind8%Tornadoes7%Drought7%Heat waves5%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Leonardtown faces

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

Inland flooding

38% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 5% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

24% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 11 years in the area

Strong wind

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 44% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 86 years in the area

Drought

7% of expected damage

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Heat waves

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Leonardtown flood?

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

6paid claims since 1979

$208Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Isabel: 4 claims, $199K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: St. Mary's County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2buildings retrofitted against wind

1storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Leonardtown

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into LeonardtownDeclared for St. Mary's County only

2011

Hurricane Irene

$35K to the Town of Leonardtown for repairs

2010

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorms

$15K to the Town of Leonardtown for repairs

2003

Hurricane Isabel

102 households applied for aid $122K aid approved $11K to the Town of Leonardtown for repairs

2000

Severe Winter Storm

$11K to the Town of Leonardtown for repairs

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

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. Leonardtown 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 Leonardtown’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Leonardtown. 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.