Old Lock Pump House, Chesapeake and Delaware Canal · Photo: Acroterion · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Chesapeake City
Chesapeake City isn’t graded for hazard risk: Chesapeake City has 810 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 2003.
What Chesapeake City 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
Earthquakes
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 Chesapeake City flood? Rarely: 3 flood claims since 2003
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Chesapeake City, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Isabel1 claim · $2K
Chesapeake City isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Cecil County.4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Chesapeake City
Disasters that paid out in Chesapeake City itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Chesapeake City), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2010Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorms$2K to the Town of Chesapeake City for repairs
- 2009Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$4K to the Town of Chesapeake City for repairs
- 2003Hurricane Isabel10 households applied for aid$24K aid approved1 flood claim paid for it, $2K
- 2003Snow$1K to the Town of Chesapeake City for repairs
Cecil County has had 16 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 Chesapeake City after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Chesapeake City archive →Get ready for what Chesapeake City 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Chesapeake City
Does Chesapeake City flood?
Flood insurance has paid 3 claims in Chesapeake City since 2003, $33K in all. The most claims came from Hurricane Isabel (1).
Is Chesapeake City 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 Cecil County, 41% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Chesapeake City?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Chesapeake City’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 Chesapeake City?
By FEMA money that reached Chesapeake City, Hurricane Isabel (2003): 10 households applied for aid, $24K approved. By flood claims, Hurricane Isabel: 1 paid, $2K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Chesapeake City.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Chesapeake City’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.