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JarrettsvillePhoto: Yaoiloverr · CC BY-SA 4.0
AHazard risk
Natural hazards in Jarrettsville · FEMA

FEMA puts Jarrettsville’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 91% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Jarrettsville gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns, #210 of 261 in Maryland. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (80%), then hurricanes (11%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2014.

River and rain flooding 80%Hurricanes 11%Earthquakes 4%

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

less than 91%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#210 of 261 in Maryland
Hazard risk
A#210 of 261
in Maryland · lower than 91% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
80% of expected building damage
Flood claims
1
paid since 2014 · $7K
Flood claims per home
1 per 1,000
fewer than 77% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Jarrettsville 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

80%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 73% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

11%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 11 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Tornadoes Strong wind Winter storms Lightning Hail Wildfire Ice storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts heat waves at 9% of Jarrettsville’s expected losses. Heat waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Jarrettsville’s grade

River and rain flooding is 80% of the building damage FEMA expects in Jarrettsville, and Jarrettsville’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 73% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 11% (higher than 73% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Jarrettsville sits
Jarrettsville
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A #210 of 261 in Maryland; lower expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Jarrettsville’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding80%Hurricanes11%Earthquakes4%Everything else5%

The typical Maryland town has lower expected damage than 97% of U.S. towns; within the state, Jarrettsville has more expected damage per building than 80% of Maryland towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $601K a year in losses across Jarrettsville: $422K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Jarrettsville’s 2,888 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Jarrettsville flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 2014

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Jarrettsville, from FEMA’s records: 1.1 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 77% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2014: 1 claim2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims2014
20142026
Biggest named events
  • The Mid-spring storms1 claim · $7K
1
paid claims since 2014
$7K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$7K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Jarrettsville isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Harford County.
Disasters

The storms Jarrettsville remembers

None of the 15 disasters declared for Harford County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Jarrettsville itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 20141 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in JarrettsvilleHarford County only

Harford 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.

Were you here?

Old photos of Jarrettsville after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Jarrettsville archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Jarrettsville faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Hurricane season
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Jarrettsville

Is Jarrettsville at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Jarrettsville has lower expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk, #210 of 261 in Maryland. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (80%) and hurricanes (11%). 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.

Does Jarrettsville flood?

Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Jarrettsville since 2014, $7K in all, or 1.1 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 77% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Mid-spring storms (1).

Is Jarrettsville 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 Harford County, 46% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.6% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Jarrettsville?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Jarrettsville’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 Jarrettsville?

By flood claims, Mid-spring storms: 1 paid, $7K.

Is Jarrettsville at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (80%), and Jarrettsville’s rate for it is lower than 73% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Jarrettsville.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Jarrettsville’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.