Photo: Kej605 · CC BY-SA 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Dewey Beach
Dewey Beach isn’t graded for hazard risk: Dewey Beach has 351 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 205 claims here since 1984.
What Dewey Beach 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
Coastal 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 Dewey Beach flood? Yes: 205 flood claims since 1984
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Dewey Beach, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Sandy49 claims · $910K
- The December Storm - nor’easter26 claims · $314K
- Hurricane Gloria1 claim · $2K
Dewey Beach is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 9) for its flood-proofing work.
Insurance rates: Sussex County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Dewey Beach
Disasters that paid out in Dewey Beach itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Dewey Beach), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2012Hurricane Sandy$13K to the Town of Dewey Beach for repairs49 flood claims paid for it, $910K
- 2011Hurricane Irene$17K to the Town of Dewey Beach for repairs
- 2003Hurricane Isabel$4K to the Town of Dewey Beach for repairs
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 Dewey Beach after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Dewey Beach archive →Get ready for what Dewey Beach 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.
- Know your evacuation zone and the way off the coast.
- Storm surge comes fast: leave when you’re told, not when the water arrives.
- Move cars to high ground before king tides and nor’easters.
- 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.
- Dewey Beach residents get 05% off flood insurance.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Dewey Beach
Does Dewey Beach flood?
Flood insurance has paid 205 claims in Dewey Beach since 1984, $2.6M in all. 32 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Sandy (49).
Is Dewey Beach 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 Dewey Beach?
Dewey Beach is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 9), which takes 05% off federal flood insurance policies for its flood-proofing work. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Dewey Beach?
By FEMA money that reached Dewey Beach, Hurricane Irene (2011): $17K to the Town of Dewey Beach for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Sandy: 49 paid, $910K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Dewey Beach.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Dewey Beach’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.