Natural hazards · Reisterstown

Reisterstown, MD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Reisterstown comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 1979. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Reisterstown?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding41%Heat waves27%Hurricanes9%Cold waves6%Everything else17%

By hazard

What Reisterstown faces

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

Inland flooding

41% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 9% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Heat waves

27% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 11% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Cold waves

6% 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 weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Reisterstown flood?

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

4paid claims since 1979

$29Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Mid-spring storms: 1 claim, $5K

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Baltimore County.

Disasters that hit Reisterstown

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ReisterstownDeclared for Baltimore County only

2003

Hurricane Isabel

19 households applied for aid $24K aid approved

Baltimore County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and floods.

Around Reisterstown

Reisterstown and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Owings Millsmostly inland floodingVery low

Reisterstownmostly 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. Reisterstown covers 5 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Reisterstown’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Reisterstown. 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 Reisterstown total about $3.6M 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.