Question 1

Which county in Maryland has the highest natural disaster risk?

Accepted Answer

Baltimore city has the highest natural disaster risk score in Maryland at 95.0 (Relatively High), based on FEMA National Risk Index data.

Question 2

Which county in Maryland is the safest from natural disasters?

Accepted Answer

Garrett County has the lowest natural disaster risk score in Maryland at 16.0 (Very Low), based on FEMA NRI data.

Question 3

What natural disasters are most common in Maryland?

Accepted Answer

Maryland counties face varying levels of risk from floods, wildfires, tornadoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes. The FEMA National Risk Index scores each county across 18 hazard types. See individual county pages for detailed hazard breakdowns.

Question 4

How is natural disaster risk measured by county?

Accepted Answer

The FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) measures natural disaster risk using expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience. Scores are normalized nationally, with ratings from Very Low to Very High across 18 natural hazard types.

County	Risk Score	Rating	Flood	Wildfire	Tornado	Earthquake
Baltimore city	95.0	Relatively High	94.3	24.0	95.4	93.0
Baltimore County	94.0	Relatively Moderate	93.9	39.5	80.4	92.4
Prince George's County	93.2	Relatively Moderate	94.6	42.3	95.1	93.2
Montgomery County	91.7	Relatively Moderate	93.7	25.1	78.7	91.8
Anne Arundel County	81.9	Relatively Moderate	80.9	35.9	82.0	83.2
Frederick County	74.2	Relatively Low	81.6	27.6	67.2	74.6
Harford County	72.5	Relatively Low	78.4	19.0	35.7	76.1
Howard County	72.4	Relatively Low	78.1	15.6	42.2	77.5
Washington County	68.8	Relatively Low	73.1	38.2	62.0	76.5
Worcester County	68.2	Relatively Low	88.0	65.9	16.1	49.7
Wicomico County	60.8	Relatively Low	57.8	80.9	33.7	60.4
Somerset County	59.6	Relatively Low	93.2	85.8	16.9	38.3
Carroll County	59.5	Relatively Low	66.7	14.0	36.4	67.6
Cecil County	58.6	Relatively Low	60.8	25.3	48.6	70.7
Allegany County	58.5	Relatively Low	73.6	21.0	35.8	52.9
Dorchester County	53.8	Relatively Low	91.2	83.2	31.0	53.4
Caroline County	45.7	Relatively Low	53.4	63.7	24.1	52.8
Charles County	44.1	Relatively Low	52.4	19.2	29.2	68.3
St. Mary's County	42.6	Very Low	63.0	59.0	39.4	57.2
Talbot County	42.4	Very Low	70.6	71.2	31.6	58.5
Queen Anne's County	35.6	Very Low	67.2	59.6	33.2	54.3
Calvert County	28.9	Very Low	59.4	52.6	17.3	50.1
Kent County	27.5	Very Low	60.0	25.4	23.5	52.0
Garrett County	16.0	Very Low	34.7	31.9	21.2	32.4

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