Natural hazards · West Pocomoke

West Pocomoke, MD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in West Pocomoke comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is West Pocomoke?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in West Pocomoke to be higher than in 70% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes40%Inland flooding19%Coastal flooding19%Cold waves8%Everything else15%

By hazard

What West Pocomoke faces

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

Hurricanes

40% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Inland flooding

19% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 14% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Coastal flooding

19% of expected damage

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

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% 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 West Pocomoke flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. West 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: Somerset County.

Disasters that hit West Pocomoke

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Somerset County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching West Pocomoke itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into West PocomokeDeclared for Somerset County only

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

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. West 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 West Pocomoke’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to West 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.