Perryville is calmer than 96% of U.S. communities
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Perryville comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 12 claims here since 1978. 8 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Perryville’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
How exposed is Perryville?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 4% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.
Calmer than 390 of the 536 Maryland towns we cover.
Perryville is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
What Perryville faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Strong wind
Hurricanes
Heat waves
Tornadoes
Cold waves
Does Perryville flood? Sometimes: 12 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Perryville, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Isabel6 claims · $249K
- The Mid-spring storms1 claim · $4K
- Hurricane Sandy1 claim · $6K
Perryville isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Cecil County.8 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Perryville
Disasters that paid out in Perryville itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Perryville) and its biggest flood years.
- 2016Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$30K to the Town of Perryville for repairs
- 2012Hurricane Sandy$32K to the Town of Perryville for repairs
- 2011Remnants of Tropical Storm Lee$14K to the Town of Perryville for repairs
- 2011Hurricane Irene$22K to the Town of Perryville for repairs
- 2010Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorms$10K to the Town of Perryville for repairs
- 2009Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$9K to the Town of Perryville for repairs
Show all 8
- 2003Hurricane Isabel52 households applied for aid$105K aid approved$90K to the Town of Perryville for repairs6 flood claims paid that year
- 2003Snow$5K to the Town of Perryville for repairs
Cecil County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and hurricanes.
Old photos of Perryville after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Perryville archive →Get ready for what Perryville actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
- Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
- Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Most disasters here begin in January–February
The month each of Cecil County’s 17 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Perryville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Perryville.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Perryville.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.