City vs city
Columbia vs Essex, MD
Essex currently scores 8 points higher overall than Columbia, with the largest gap in hail.
Use this comparison for relocation decisions, insurance shopping, and hazard-prioritized mitigation planning.
Hazard breakdown
Scores describe each city’s reference grid tile, not every property. A missing model is unavailable, not zero risk. Air quality is a current EPA AirNow signal; other factors describe baseline exposure. The overall score blends different hazards and is not a probability of damage. Read the scoring methodology and sources.
Overall
Columbia: 33/100 · Essex: 41/100
Essex is 8 points higher.
Flood
Columbia: 22/100 · Essex: 25/100
Essex is 3 points higher.
Columbia: FEMA NFHL flood zones: 4 features intersect this tile.
Essex: FEMA NFHL flood zones: 9 features intersect this tile.
Wind
Columbia: 21/100 · Essex: 21/100
No gap.
Columbia: Wind exposure derived from ingested design wind / climatology tiles.
Essex: Wind exposure derived from ingested design wind / climatology tiles.
Lightning
Columbia: 38/100 · Essex: 39/100
Essex is 1 points higher.
Columbia: Lightning exposure derived from ingested climatology tiles.
Essex: Lightning exposure derived from ingested climatology tiles.
Tornado
Columbia: 15/100 · Essex: 15/100
No gap.
Columbia: Tornado risk derived from NOAA SPC historical reports.
Essex: Tornado risk derived from NOAA SPC historical reports.
Hail
Columbia: 58/100 · Essex: 86/100
Essex is 28 points higher.
Columbia: Hail risk derived from NOAA SPC historical reports.
Essex: Hail risk derived from NOAA SPC historical reports.
Storm surge
Columbia: Unavailable · Essex: 78/100
A score difference cannot be calculated without both sources.
Columbia: Storm surge model is not available for this location yet.
Essex: Storm surge exposure derived from NOAA SLOSH MOM (AGL) data.
Wildfire
Columbia: 38/100 · Essex: 28/100
Columbia is 10 points higher.
Columbia: Wildfire exposure derived from ingested fire potential tiles.
Essex: Wildfire exposure derived from ingested fire potential tiles.
Current air quality
Columbia: 42/100 · Essex: 39/100
Columbia is 3 points higher.
Columbia: Air quality signal derived from the latest EPA AirNow combined AQI grid.
Essex: Air quality signal derived from the latest EPA AirNow combined AQI grid.