Ida May · Photo: Linda Roy Walls · CC BY-SA 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Chance
Chance isn’t graded for hazard risk: Chance has 230 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Chance 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
Wildfire
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 Chance flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Chance. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Chance isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Somerset County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Chance
Disasters that paid out in Chance itself (aid to households or repair grants to Chance), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2003Hurricane Isabel6 households applied for aid$8K aid approved
Somerset County has had 9 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 Chance after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Chance archive →Chance 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dames Quarter | — | 226 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Deal Island | — | 341 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
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 Chance 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.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- 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 Chance
Is Chance 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 Somerset County, 34% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 15.9% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Chance?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Chance’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 Chance?
By FEMA money that reached Chance, Hurricane Isabel (2003): 6 households applied for aid, $8K approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Chance.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Chance’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.