Editorial

Most disaster-prone counties in Maryland

Maryland has 470 county-level FEMA disaster declarations across 24 counties. The dominant hazard type is hurricane. Baltimore County leads with 24 declarations, followed by Calvert County and Charles County.

This ranking shows every county in Maryland ordered by how many times FEMA has issued a disaster declaration affecting it. Counties near coastlines, river systems, or wildfire corridors tend to appear at the top because the same geographic exposure produces recurring events across decades.

Each county links to a full disaster history page with the complete declaration timeline, hazard type breakdown, decade trends, and whatever FEMA spending data is available. For a national view, see the most disaster-prone counties in America page.

Maryland ranking

All counties by FEMA declaration count

#CountyDeclarationsTop hazardFirst yearLatest year
1Baltimore County24Snowstorm19712026
2Calvert County24Hurricane19722026
3Charles County24Snowstorm19722026
4Anne Arundel County23Snowstorm19712026
5Frederick County23Hurricane19712026
6Baltimore city22Snowstorm19712026
7Howard County22Flood19712026
8Caroline County21Snowstorm19722026
9Cecil County21Hurricane19722026
10Kent County21Hurricane19722026
11Montgomery County21Snowstorm19712026
12Dorchester County20Hurricane19722026
13Harford County20Hurricane19712026
14Talbot County20Hurricane19722026
15Carroll County19Flood19712026
16Prince George's County19Snowstorm19712026
17Queen Anne's County18Hurricane19772026
18St. Mary's County18Hurricane19772026
19Allegany County17Hurricane19722026
20Washington County17Hurricane19722026
21Garrett County14Hurricane19932026
22Somerset County14Hurricane19722026
23Wicomico County14Hurricane19722026
24Worcester County14Hurricane19722026