FEMA puts Cottage City’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 74% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Cottage City gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (84%). 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 Cottage 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
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 Cottage City’s grade
River and rain flooding is 84% of the building damage FEMA expects in Cottage City, and Cottage City’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 50% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 8% (higher than 72% of U.S. census tracts).
B+ lower expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Cottage City’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $181K a year in losses across Cottage City: $132K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Cottage City flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Cottage City. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Cottage 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: Prince George's County.The storms Cottage City remembers
None of the 15 disasters declared for Prince George's County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Cottage City itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Prince George's County has had 15 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Cottage City and its neighbors
Cottage City is 3rd of the 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bladensburg | A+less damage than 97% | river and rain flooding | 4 |
| Colmar Manor | B+less damage than 74% | river and rain flooding | 5 |
| Cottage City | B+less damage than 74% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Hyattsville | B+less damage than 70% | river and rain flooding | 15 |
| Mount Rainier | Dmore damage than 87% | river and rain flooding | 5 |
| Brentwood | D−more damage than 95% | river and rain flooding | 33 |
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 Cottage 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.
- 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 Cottage City
Is Cottage City at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Cottage City has lower expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (84%) and hurricanes (8%). 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 Cottage 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 Prince George's County, 0.9% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Cottage City?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Cottage City’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Cottage City at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (84%), and Cottage City’s rate for it is higher than 50% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Cottage City.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Cottage 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.