Photo: Lee Cannon from Bayville aka West Fenwick, DE, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0Storms, floods and disasters in Dagsboro
Dagsboro isn’t graded for hazard risk: FEMA’s tract figures aren’t matched to Dagsboro yet. Flood insurance has paid 5 claims here since 1998.
What Dagsboro faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Hurricanes
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 Dagsboro flood? Rarely: 5 flood claims since 1998
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Dagsboro, from FEMA’s records.
Dagsboro isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Sussex County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Dagsboro
Disasters that paid out in Dagsboro itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Dagsboro), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2003Hurricane Isabel2 households applied for aid$383 aid approved
Sussex County has had 15 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Dagsboro after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Dagsboro archive →Dagsboro 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frankford | — | not graded yet | |
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 Dagsboro faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Dagsboro
Does Dagsboro flood?
Flood insurance has paid 5 claims in Dagsboro since 1998, $35K in all.
Is Dagsboro 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 Sussex County, 61% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 12.7% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Dagsboro?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Dagsboro’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 Dagsboro?
By FEMA money that reached Dagsboro, Hurricane Isabel (2003): 2 households applied for aid, $383 approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Dagsboro.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Dagsboro’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.