Glen Oak Hotel · Photo: Linda Roy Walls · CC BY-SA 3.0Less hazard damage per building is expected in Hurlock than in 92% of U.S. towns, led by river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Hurlock gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (45%), then hurricanes (38%). 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 Hurlock 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 Hurlock’s grade
River and rain flooding is 45% of the building damage FEMA expects in Hurlock, and Hurlock’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 96% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 3%, at a rate in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
A lower expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Hurlock’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $472K a year in losses across Hurlock: $245K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Hurlock flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Hurlock. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Hurlock 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.7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Hurlock
Disasters that paid out in Hurlock itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Hurlock), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2012Hurricane Sandy$10K to the Town of Hurlock for repairs
- 2011Hurricane Irene$18K to the Town of Hurlock for repairs
- 2010Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorms$8K to the Town of Hurlock for repairs
- 2006Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes$12K to the Town of Hurlock for repairs
- 2003Hurricane Isabel13 households applied for aid$18K aid approved
- 2003Snow$5K to the Town of Hurlock for repairs
Show all 7
- 2000Severe Winter Storm$3K to the Town of Hurlock for repairs
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.
Old photos of Hurlock after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Hurlock archive →Get ready for what Hurlock 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 Hurlock
Is Hurlock at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Hurlock has lower expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (45%) and hurricanes (38%). 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 Hurlock 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 Hurlock?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Hurlock’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 Hurlock?
By FEMA money that reached Hurlock, Hurricane Isabel (2003): 13 households applied for aid, $18K approved.
Is Hurlock at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (45%), and Hurlock’s rate for it is lower than 96% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Hurlock.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Hurlock’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.