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St. George's Parish Vestry HouseSt. George's Parish Vestry House · Photo: E.H. Pickering · Public domain
A+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Perryman · FEMA

FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Perryman than in 97% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Perryman gets an A+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (75%). Flood insurance has paid 30 claims here since 1979.

River and rain flooding 75%Hurricanes 9%Earthquakes 9%

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 97%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
A+
in Maryland · lower than 97% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
75% of expected building damage
Flood claims
30
paid since 1979 · $748K
Flood claims per home
27 per 1,000
more than 87% of U.S. towns

What stands out about Perryman’s natural hazards

From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.

Lower expected damage than 97% of U.S. townsFEMA’s model of yearly storm and flood damage per dollar of building.Remembers 200318 flood claims were paid for 2003 alone, the most of any year.
By hazard

What Perryman 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

75%of expected building damage
Well below average · lower than 86% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

9%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 14 years in the area

Earthquakes

9%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 61% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Strong wind Coastal flooding Winter storms Lightning Hail Wildfire Ice storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

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 Perryman’s grade

River and rain flooding is 75% of the building damage FEMA expects in Perryman, and Perryman’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 86% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 9% (higher than 69% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Perryman sits
Perryman
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A+ lower expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding75%Hurricanes9%Earthquakes9%Everything else7%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $919K a year in losses across Perryman: $700K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Perryman’s 2,496 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 Perryman flood? Sometimes: 30 flood claims since 1979

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Perryman, from FEMA’s records: 26.7 per 1,000 homes, more than 87% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1979: 5 claims1980: 0 claims1981: 0 claims1982: 0 claims1983: 1 claim1984: 1 claim1985: 0 claims1986: 0 claims1987: 0 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 0 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 0 claims1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 1 claim2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 18 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 3 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 1 claim2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims197920032012
19792026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Isabel18 claims · $654K
  • Hurricane Sandy3 claims · $29K
  • Hurricane Floyd1 claim · $6K
30
paid claims since 1979
$748K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$25K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Perryman 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 Perryman remembers

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

  1. 200318 flood claims paidThe year of Hurricane Isabel, declared for Harford County
  2. 19795 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
  3. 20123 flood claims paidThe year of Hurricane Sandy, declared for Harford County
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in PerrymanHarford 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 Perryman after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Perryman archive →
Next door

Perryman and its neighbors

Perryman is 2nd of the 3 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Aberdeen: hazard risk ARiverside: hazard risk A+AberdeenRiversidePerryman
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
RiversideA+less damage than 97%river and rain flooding1
PerrymanA+less damage than 97%river and rain flooding30
AberdeenAless damage than 91%river and rain flooding25

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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Perryman 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 ↗
Earthquakes
  • Drop, cover and hold on.
  • Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
  • Know how to shut off the gas.
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 Perryman

Is Perryman at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Perryman has lower expected damage per building than 97% of U.S. towns: A+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (75%) and hurricanes (9%). 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 Perryman flood?

Flood insurance has paid 30 claims in Perryman since 1979, $748K in all, or 26.7 per 1,000 homes, more than 87% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Isabel (18).

Is Perryman 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 Perryman?

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

By flood claims, Hurricane Isabel: 18 paid, $654K.

Is Perryman at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (75%), and Perryman’s rate for it is lower than 86% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Perryman.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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