Photo: Roland Balik · Public domainFEMA expects about as much hazard damage per building in Dover Base Housing as in the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Dover Base Housing gets a B− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns, #29 of 37 in Delaware. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (77%), then hurricanes (16%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What Dover Base Housing 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.
What’s behind Dover Base Housing’s grade
River and rain flooding is 77% of the building damage FEMA expects in Dover Base Housing, and Dover Base Housing’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 63% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 16% (higher than 84% of U.S. census tracts).
B− #29 of 37 in Delaware; lower expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Dover Base Housing’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical Delaware town has lower expected damage than 65% of U.S. towns; within the state, Dover Base Housing has more expected damage per building than 78% of Delaware towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $681K a year in losses across Dover Base Housing: $429K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Dover Base Housing flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Dover Base Housing. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Dover Base Housing isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Kent County.The storms Dover Base Housing remembers
None of the 12 disasters declared for Kent County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Dover Base Housing itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Kent County has had 12 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.
Dover Base Housing and its neighbors
Dover Base Housing is 3rd of the 3 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dover | A−less damage than 79% | river and rain flooding | 15 |
| Rising Sun-Lebanon | B−less damage than 54% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Dover Base Housing | B−less damage than 50% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
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 Dover Base Housing 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 Dover Base Housing
Is Dover Base Housing at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Dover Base Housing has lower expected damage per building than 50% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk, #29 of 37 in Delaware. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (77%) and hurricanes (16%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Dover Base Housing 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 Kent County, 36% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Dover Base Housing?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Dover Base Housing’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Dover Base Housing at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (77%), and Dover Base Housing’s rate for it is higher than 63% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Dover Base Housing.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Dover Base Housing’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.