Natural hazards · Swanton

Swanton, MD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Swanton comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Swanton?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding75%Cold waves6%Everything else19%

By hazard

What Swanton faces

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

Inland flooding

75% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDroughtAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingTsunamisVolcanic 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 Swanton flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Garrett County.

Disasters that hit Swanton

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SwantonDeclared for Garrett County only

2003

Hurricane Isabel

2 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

Garrett County has had 11 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. Swanton 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 Swanton’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Swanton. 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.