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Natural hazards · Rockville

Rockville, MD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Rockville comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 11 claims here since 1979. 10 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Rockville?

2
Very low
vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding47%Earthquakes13%Hurricanes12%Heat waves9%Cold waves5%Everything else14%
By hazard

What Rockville faces

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

Inland flooding

47% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 4% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

13% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 57% of U.S. places

Hurricanes

12% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Heat waves

9% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 3% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

5% 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 weatherWildfireLandslidesStrong 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 Rockville flood?

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

11paid claims since 1979
$56Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
19792026

Biggest named events

  • Mid-spring storms: 1 claim, $2K
  • Hurricane Ida: 1 claim, $10K
  • Hurricane Sandy: 1 claim, $15K
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Rockville isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Montgomery County.
Disasters that hit Rockville

10 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RockvilleDeclared for Montgomery County only
2016

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$265K to the City of Rockville for repairs
2012

Hurricane Sandy

$11K to the City of Rockville for repairs
2012

Severe Storms and Straight-Line Winds

$285K to the City of Rockville for repairs
2011

Hurricane Irene

$23K to the City of Rockville for repairs
2010

Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorms

$284K to the City of Rockville for repairs
2009

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$160K to the City of Rockville for repairs
2006

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$216K to the City of Rockville for repairs
2003

Hurricane Isabel

47 households applied for aid $5K aid approved $205K to the City of Rockville for repairs
2003

Snow

$59K to the City of Rockville for repairs
2000

Severe Winter Storm

$69K to the City of Rockville for repairs
Montgomery County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and severe storms.
Around Rockville

Rockville and the towns around it

North Bethesda: Very low, mostly inland floodingTravilah: Very low, mostly inland floodingPotomac: Very low, mostly inland floodingAspen Hill: Very low, mostly inland floodingRedland: Very low, mostly inland floodingNorth Potomac: Very low, mostly inland floodingWheaton: Very low, mostly inland floodingSouth Kensington: Very low, mostly inland floodingBethesda: Very low, mostly inland floodingGarrett Park: Very low, mostly inland floodingNorth Kensington: Very low, mostly inland floodingDarnestown: Very low, mostly inland floodingGreat Falls: Low, mostly inland floodingMcLean: Very low, mostly inland floodingCabin John: Very low, mostly inland floodingLeisure World: Very low, mostly inland floodingOlney: Very low, mostly inland floodingLayhill: Low, mostly inland floodingCloverly: Very low, mostly inland floodingGlenmont: Very low, mostly inland floodingDerwood: Very low, mostly inland floodingWashington Grove: Very low, mostly inland floodingGaithersburg: Very low, mostly inland floodingFlower Hill: Very low, mostly inland floodingRockville: Very low, mostly inland flooding RockvilleNorth BethesdaTravilahPotomacAspen HillRedlandNorth Potomac
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Travilahmostly inland floodingVery low
Potomacmostly inland floodingVery low
North Potomacmostly inland floodingVery low
Aspen Hillmostly inland floodingVery low
North Bethesdamostly inland floodingVery low
Redlandmostly inland floodingVery low
Rockvillemostly 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. Rockville covers 14 census tracts, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Rockville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Rockville. 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 Rockville total about $7.3M 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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