Natural hazards · Preston

Preston, MD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Preston comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Preston?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Preston to be higher than in 46% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes33%Inland flooding21%Drought15%Strong wind7%Coastal flooding6%Cold waves6%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Preston faces

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

Hurricanes

33% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Inland flooding

21% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 12% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Drought

15% of expected damage

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Coastal flooding

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Preston flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Preston.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Caroline County.

Disasters that hit Preston

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PrestonDeclared for Caroline County only

2011

Hurricane Irene

$1K to the Town of Preston for repairs

2010

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorms

$3K to the Town of Preston for repairs

2009

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$2K to the Town of Preston for repairs

2003

Hurricane Isabel

16 households applied for aid $38K aid approved

Caroline County has had 17 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. Preston 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 Preston’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Preston. 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.