Natural hazards · Mount Rainier

Mount Rainier, MD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Mount Rainier comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 5 claims here since 1979. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Mount Rainier?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Mount Rainier to be higher than in 85% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding81%Heat waves5%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Mount Rainier faces

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

Inland flooding

81% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

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

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Mount Rainier flood?

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

5paid claims since 1979

$81Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19792026

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Mount Rainier 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.

Disasters that hit Mount Rainier

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Mount Rainier itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the City of Mount Rainier.

Brought FEMA money into Mount RainierDeclared for Prince George's County only

2003

Hurricane Isabel

31 households applied for aid $17K aid approved

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

Around Mount Rainier

Mount Rainier and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Brentwoodmostly inland floodingVery high

Mount Rainiermostly inland floodingVery high

Chillummostly inland floodingLow

Hyattsvillemostly inland floodingLow

Cottage Citymostly inland floodingLow

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. Mount Rainier covers 3 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Mount Rainier’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Mount Rainier. 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 Mount Rainier total about $2.2M 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.