Natural hazards · Olney

Olney, MD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Olney comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 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 Olney?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Olney to be higher than in 4% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding56%Hurricanes11%Heat waves9%Earthquakes6%Cold waves5%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Olney faces

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

Inland flooding

56% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 8% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

11% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Heat waves

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

6% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 47% of U.S. places

Cold waves

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesStrong 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 Olney flood?

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

3paid claims since 2003

$18Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20032026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Olney 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 Olney

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into OlneyDeclared for Montgomery County only

2003

Hurricane Isabel

4 households applied for aid $5K aid approved

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

Around Olney

Olney and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Aspen Hillmostly inland floodingVery low

Brookevillemostly inland floodingVery low

Olneymostly inland floodingVery low

Ashton-Sandy Springmostly inland floodingVery low

Leisure Worldmostly 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. Olney covers 7 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Olney’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Olney. 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 Olney total about $3.8M 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.