FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Long Beach than in 94% of U.S. towns, led by hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Long Beach gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (42%), then river and rain flooding (40%). Flood insurance has paid 16 claims here since 2003.
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 Long Beach faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
River and rain flooding
Coastal flooding
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 Long Beach’s grade
Hurricanes are 42% of the building damage FEMA expects in Long Beach, and Long Beach’s rate of hurricanes damage is higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 8%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
A lower expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Long Beach’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $326K a year in losses across Long Beach: $247K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Long Beach flood? Sometimes: 16 flood claims since 2003
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Long Beach, from FEMA’s records: 20.0 per 1,000 homes, more than 84% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- Hurricane Isabel7 claims · $120K
- The 2025-10-nor’easter1 claim · $16K
Long Beach isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Calvert County.The storms Long Beach remembers
None of the 19 disasters declared for Calvert County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Long Beach itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 20037 flood claims paidThe year of Hurricane Isabel, declared for Calvert County
- 20215 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 20063 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Calvert County has had 19 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 Long Beach after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Long Beach archive →Long Beach and its neighbors
Long Beach is 2nd of the 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calvert Beach | Aless damage than 94% | hurricanes | — |
| Long Beach | Aless damage than 94% | hurricanes | 16 |
| St. Leonard | — | 726 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
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 Long Beach faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Long Beach
Is Long Beach at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Long Beach has lower expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (42%) and river and rain flooding (40%). 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 Long Beach flood?
Flood insurance has paid 16 claims in Long Beach since 2003, $323K in all, or 20.0 per 1,000 homes, more than 84% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Isabel (7).
Is Long Beach 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 Calvert County, 63% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 2.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Long Beach?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Long Beach’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 Long Beach?
By flood claims, Hurricane Isabel: 7 paid, $120K.
Is Long Beach at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (42%), and Long Beach’s rate for it is higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Long Beach.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Long Beach’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.