Piney Point Coast Guard Light Station · Photo: Aaron Linville · CC BY-SA 4.0Piney Point’s building-damage rate from coastal flooding is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Piney Point gets a B− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 53% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is coastal flooding (39%), then hurricanes (28%). 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 stands out about Piney Point’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Piney Point faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Coastal flooding
Hurricanes
River and rain 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 Piney Point’s grade
Coastal flooding is 39% of the building damage FEMA expects in Piney Point, and Piney Point’s rate of coastal flooding damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 28% (higher than 87% of U.S. census tracts).
B− lower expected damage per building than 53% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Piney Point’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $361K a year in losses across Piney Point: $294K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Piney Point flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Piney Point. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Piney Point isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: St. Mary's County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Piney Point
Disasters that paid out in Piney Point itself (aid to households or repair grants to Piney Point), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2003Hurricane Isabel131 households applied for aid$320K aid approved
St. Mary's County has had 13 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 Piney Point after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Piney Point archive →Piney Point and its neighbors
Piney Point has the lowest expected damage per building of the 1 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Piney Point | B−less damage than 53% | coastal flooding | 0 |
| Tall Timbers | — | 391 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 Piney Point faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Piney Point
Is Piney Point at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Piney Point has lower expected damage per building than 53% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is coastal flooding (39%) and hurricanes (28%). 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 Piney Point 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 St. Mary's County, 55% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 2.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Piney Point?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Piney Point’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 Piney Point?
By FEMA money that reached Piney Point, Hurricane Isabel (2003): 131 households applied for aid, $320K approved.
Is Piney Point at risk from coastal flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (39%), and Piney Point’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Piney Point.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Piney Point’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.