Natural hazards · Pasadena

Pasadena, MD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Pasadena comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 5 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 Pasadena?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Pasadena to be higher than in 2% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding40%Hurricanes13%Heat waves11%Tornadoes11%Earthquakes7%Strong wind5%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Pasadena faces

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

Inland flooding

40% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

13% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Heat waves

11% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 13% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 35% of U.S. places

Earthquakes

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 50% of U.S. places

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 61% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Pasadena flood?

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

5paid claims since 2003

$99Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20032026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Isabel: 3 claims, $85K

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Anne Arundel County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

12homes raised above flood level

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Pasadena

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PasadenaDeclared for Anne Arundel County only

2003

Hurricane Isabel

467 households applied for aid $1.1M aid approved

Anne Arundel County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and hurricanes.

Around Pasadena

Pasadena and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Baltimoremostly inland floodingVery low

Severna Parkmostly inland floodingVery low

Riviera Beachmostly inland floodingVery low

Lake Shoremostly inland floodingVery low

Pasadenamostly inland floodingVery low

Glen Burniemostly 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. Pasadena covers 7 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Pasadena’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Pasadena. 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 Pasadena total about $4.0M 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.