Glasgow · Photo: Newhoudl · CC BY-SA 4.0FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Algonquin than in 77% of U.S. towns, mostly from coastal flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Algonquin gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 77% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is coastal flooding (62%), then hurricanes (15%). 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 Algonquin faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Coastal flooding
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.
What’s behind Algonquin’s grade
Coastal flooding is 62% of the building damage FEMA expects in Algonquin, and Algonquin’s rate of coastal flooding damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 2%, at a rate in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts.
C− higher expected damage per building than 77% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Algonquin’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $767K a year in losses across Algonquin: $615K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Algonquin flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Algonquin. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Algonquin isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Dorchester County.The storms Algonquin remembers
None of the 15 disasters declared for Dorchester County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Algonquin itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Dorchester 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.
Algonquin and its neighbors
Algonquin is 2nd of the 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge | Aless damage than 86% | hurricanes | 58 |
| Algonquin | C−more damage than 77% | coastal 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 Algonquin faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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 Algonquin
Is Algonquin at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Algonquin has higher expected damage per building than 77% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is coastal flooding (62%) and hurricanes (15%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Algonquin 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 Dorchester County, 49% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 8.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Algonquin?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Algonquin’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Algonquin at risk from coastal flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (62%), and Algonquin’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Algonquin.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Algonquin’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.