Natural hazards · North Potomac

North Potomac, MD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in North Potomac comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 1980. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is North Potomac?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding63%Hurricanes10%Heat waves7%Earthquakes5%Everything else16%

By hazard

What North Potomac faces

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

Inland flooding

63% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 17% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

10% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Heat waves

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

5% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 46% of U.S. places

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 North Potomac flood?

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

6paid claims since 1980

$48Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19802026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Sandy: 1 claim, $24K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. North Potomac 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 North Potomac

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into North PotomacDeclared for Montgomery County only

2003

Hurricane Isabel

8 households applied for aid $6K aid approved

Montgomery County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and severe storms.

Around North Potomac

North Potomac and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Travilahmostly inland floodingVery low

North Potomacmostly inland floodingVery low

Darnestownmostly inland floodingVery low

Gaithersburgmostly inland floodingVery low

Rockvillemostly 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. North Potomac covers 6 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to North Potomac’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to North Potomac. 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 North Potomac total about $3.6M 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.