Photo: Tyler Carey · CC BY-SA 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Calvert
Calvert isn’t graded for hazard risk: Calvert has 83 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Calvert faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
River and rain flooding
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
Does Calvert flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Calvert. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Calvert isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Washington County.8 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Calvert
Disasters that paid out in Calvert itself (aid to households or repair grants to Calvert), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2020Hurricane Zeta46 households applied for aid$58K aid approved
- 2020Hurricane Sally13 households applied for aid$20K aid approved
- 2014Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding7 households applied for aid$10K aid approved
- 2011Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding3 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
- 2005Hurricane Katrina142 households applied for aid$139K aid approved
- 2005Hurricane Dennis3 households applied for aid$796 aid approved
Show all 8
- 2004Hurricane Ivan146 households applied for aid$201K aid approved
- 2003Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding37 households applied for aid$38K aid approved
Washington County has had 21 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then severe storms.
Also 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Washington County, 1999–1999.
Old photos of Calvert after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Calvert archive →Calvert and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Vernon | Dmore damage than 90% | hurricanes | 3 |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Calvert faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Calvert
Is Calvert in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Washington County, 3% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Calvert?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Calvert’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Calvert?
By FEMA money that reached Calvert, Hurricane Ivan (2004): 146 households applied for aid, $201K approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Calvert.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Calvert’s residents lived in the 2020 census; 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. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.