Natural hazards · Pocomoke

Pocomoke, MD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Pocomoke comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 10 claims here since 2011. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Pocomoke?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Pocomoke to be higher than in 53% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes39%Inland flooding30%Coastal flooding12%Cold waves8%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Pocomoke faces

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

Hurricanes

39% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Inland flooding

30% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 26% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Coastal flooding

12% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 48% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Pocomoke flood?

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

10paid claims since 2011

$88Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20112026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Sandy: 8 claims, $86K
Hurricane Irene: 1 claim, $1K

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Worcester County.

Disasters that hit Pocomoke

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PocomokeDeclared for Worcester County only

2012

Hurricane Sandy

4 households applied for aid $12K aid approved

2003

Hurricane Isabel

6 households applied for aid $4K aid approved

Worcester County has had 10 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and hurricanes.

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. Pocomoke is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Pocomoke’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Pocomoke. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

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.