Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0Less hazard damage per building is expected in Halfway than in 98% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Halfway gets an A+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns, #81 of 261 in Maryland. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (62%), then hurricanes (20%). 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 Halfway 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
Earthquakes
Tornadoes
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 Halfway’s grade
River and rain flooding is 62% of the building damage FEMA expects in Halfway, and Halfway’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 95% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 20% (higher than 81% of U.S. census tracts).
A+ #81 of 261 in Maryland; lower expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Halfway’s residents live in 6 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Maryland town has lower expected damage than 97% of U.S. towns; within the state, Halfway has less expected damage per building than 69% of Maryland towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.6M a year in losses across Halfway: $1.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Halfway flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Halfway. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Halfway isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Washington County.The storms Halfway remembers
None of the 13 disasters declared for Washington County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Halfway itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Washington County has had 13 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.
Halfway and its neighbors
Halfway has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Halfway | A+less damage than 98% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Hagerstown | Aless damage than 95% | river and rain flooding | 19 |
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 Halfway 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- 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 Halfway
Is Halfway at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Halfway has lower expected damage per building than 98% of U.S. towns: A+ for hazard risk, #81 of 261 in Maryland. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (62%) and hurricanes (20%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Halfway 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 Washington County, 44% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Halfway?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Halfway’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Halfway at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (62%), and Halfway’s rate for it is lower than 95% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Halfway.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Halfway’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.