Natural hazards · Manchester

Manchester, MD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Manchester comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Manchester?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding53%Strong wind13%Heat waves6%Hurricanes6%Drought5%Everything else16%

By hazard

What Manchester faces

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

Inland flooding

53% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 18% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Strong wind

13% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Heat waves

6% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 11% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 11 years in the area

Drought

5% of expected damage

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Manchester flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Carroll County.

Disasters that hit Manchester

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ManchesterDeclared for Carroll County only

2016

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$58K to the Town of Manchester for repairs

2014

Snowstorm

$31K to the Town of Manchester for repairs

2012

Hurricane Sandy

$7K to the Town of Manchester for repairs

2010

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorms

$35K to the Town of Manchester for repairs

2003

Hurricane Isabel

5 households applied for aid $7K aid approved $5K to the Town of Manchester for repairs

2003

Snow

$13K to the Town of Manchester for repairs

Carroll County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and floods.

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