Photo: G. Edward Johnson · CC BY 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Martin's Additions
Martin's Additions isn’t graded for hazard risk: FEMA’s tract figures aren’t matched to Martin's Additions yet.
What Martin's Additions 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.
Does Martin's Additions flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Martin's Additions. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Martin's Additions isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Montgomery County.6 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Martin's Additions
Disasters that paid out in Martin's Additions itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Village of Martin's Additions), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2016Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$17K to the Village of Martin's Additions for repairs
- 2012Severe Storms and Straight-line Winds$7K to the Village of Martin's Additions for repairs
- 2010Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorms$10K to the Village of Martin's Additions for repairs
- 2009Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$4K to the Village of Martin's Additions for repairs
- 2003Snow$11K to the Village of Martin's Additions for repairs
- 2000Severe Winter Storm$1K to the Village of Martin's Additions for repairs
Montgomery County has had 17 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Martin's Additions after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Martin's Additions archive →Martin's Additions and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chevy Chase | A+less damage than 97% | river and rain flooding | 6 |
| Chevy Chase Village | A+less damage than 96% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Chevy Chase Section Five | — | 803 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 Martin's Additions 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 Martin's Additions
Is Martin's Additions 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 Montgomery County, 51% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Martin's Additions?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Martin's Additions’ 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 Martin's Additions?
By FEMA money that reached Martin's Additions, Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm (2016): $17K to the Village of Martin's Additions for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Martin's Additions.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Martin's Additions’ 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.