State profile · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index

Pennsylvania Natural Disasters

Pennsylvania's federal declaration record sits near the middle of the state distribution. 64 FEMA disaster declarations are on record, led by flood, with $713.4M in combined property and crop damage. A moderate count like this can still mask a single catastrophic year rather than a steady annual pattern. NOAA storm event data shows 19,427 recorded weather events resulting in 136 fatalities, a toll that informs where the state directs disaster-preparedness resources.

Compiled by PlainHazard Editorial, Independent hazard-data publisher · August 3, 2026

64
FEMA declarations: 19,427
NOAA storm events: 136
Storm fatalities: $713.4M
Property + crop damage

The Pennsylvania risk picture

5 of the 67 counties FEMA scores, 7%, carry a FEMA "high-risk" National Risk Index rating, with riverine flooding the single largest driver of expected annual loss statewide. Pennsylvania has 54 Major Disaster (DR) declarations; FEMA authorizes Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, or both separately for each declaration. NOAA-tracked storms have caused 514 injuries statewide.

7%
of counties rated high-risk by FEMA National Risk Index: 64
FEMA disaster declarations on record: $713.4M
in tracked property + crop damage: 75,691
NFIP flood insurance claims filed statewide

FEMA's National Risk Index and NOAA's Storm Events Database measure different things: modeled long-run risk vs. observed severe-weather events. Storm Events is a reported dataset, so its counts track what was observed and logged, not every event that occurred, and reporting is denser where more people live. See the methodology for how they relate.

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FEMA declarations

Below median

Major Disaster share

84%

Mostly major

NOAA storm events

19,427

Observed severe-weather records

How does Pennsylvania compare?

Pennsylvania vs. every U.S. state

FEMA disaster declarations, all-time

64 42nd percentile higher than 42% of 59 states and territories

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states and territories. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 · 2026-08-03

Pennsylvania county risk-score spread

FEMA National Risk Index composite scores, 0–100

67.4 45th percentile higher than 45% of 67 county composite scores

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more county composite scores. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source FEMA National Risk Index (NRI), county composite scores · 2026-08-03

The declaration chart counts past federal actions. The county score chart summarizes FEMA's modeled National Risk Index composite; it is not a forecast, and a state average does not describe every county.

Do more storms mean more federal disasters?

Pennsylvania sits at the 38th percentile of FEMA declaration volume and the 76th percentile of NOAA storm-event volume among 55 states and territories, those two ranks are not interchangeable.

Each point is a state or territory plotted by within-sample rank percentile (0–100) on FEMA OpenFEMA declarations (x) and NOAA Storm Events (y). Crosshairs mark the mid-rank (50th). Illinois is the clearest threshold-gap example in this release. Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 + NOAA Storm Events Database.

Read the chart, every state as text

Percentiles are within this release's state/territory sample. Raw counts are the underlying FEMA and NOAA totals.

State	FEMA decls	FEMA %ile	NOAA storms	NOAA %ile
California	396	98	23,694	93
Texas	389	96	53,309	98
Oklahoma	258	95	23,896	95
Washington	215	93	4,408	22
Florida	188	91	12,838	55
Oregon	169	89	3,695	20
New Mexico	126	87	10,974	45
Arizona	120	85	9,541	38
New York	118	84	21,653	82
Montana	112	82	13,576	56
Colorado	111	78	18,340	73
Louisiana	111	78	11,204	47
Nevada	110	76	4,534	24
Alabama	102	75	14,583	64
Kentucky	98	71	19,947	78
Mississippi	98	71	14,100	62
Tennessee	97	69	16,645	69
South Dakota	96	67	22,759	87
Alaska	94	64	2,683	15
Kansas	94	64	25,115	96
Arkansas	87	60	13,637	58
Nebraska	87	60	20,136	80
Missouri	86	58	22,952	89
North Carolina	85	56	16,367	67
West Virginia	84	55	12,026	49
Georgia	81	51	16,676	71
Minnesota	81	51	19,109	75
Iowa	78	49	21,883	84
Virginia	77	47	23,584	91
North Dakota	75	45	10,818	44
Hawaii	72	44	6,200	31
Maine	71	42	4,781	27
Illinois	68	40	22,088	85
Pennsylvania	64	38	19,427	76
New Hampshire	63	36	2,547	11
Vermont	62	35	3,449	18
Idaho	60	31	5,142	29
Ohio	60	31	16,184	65
Massachusetts	59	25	6,781	33
New Jersey	59	25	8,218	35
Utah	59	25	4,578	25
Wisconsin	56	24	13,807	60
Indiana	54	22	12,687	53
Puerto Rico	51	18	2,944	16
South Carolina	51	18	10,520	42
Michigan	46	16	9,052	36
Wyoming	45	15	12,494	51
Connecticut	43	13	2,622	13
Maryland	38	11	10,290	40
U.S. Virgin Islands	33	9	88	0
Rhode Island	31	7	924	7
Delaware	26	5	1,475	9
Guam	25	4	258	2
District of Columbia	24	2	452	5
American Samoa	17	0	292	4

What shapes Pennsylvania's record?

Flood

26
Severe Storm

17
Hurricane

9
Snowstorm

5
Biological

2
Tornado

2
Tropical Storm

1
Severe Ice Storm

1

What this shows Flood leads Pennsylvania's FEMA declaration mix with 26 records among the types shown.

NOAA storm events by year

Reported severe-weather events in Pennsylvania, 2015–2025 catalog window.

NOAA Storm Events Database event counts for Pennsylvania. Focus a year mark for its exact count.

Peak year in this series: 2019 (2,395 events). Counts are reported events, not a complete census.

65 /100

Historical Activity Index

High historical activity

Pennsylvania · PlainHazard-derived composite from federal records

This 0–100 index is an explicit PlainHazard composite mixing OpenFEMA declaration totals (1953–present) with NOAA Storm Events (2015–2025), different windows and event definitions, disclosed weights on the methodology page . It is not FEMA's National Risk Index, not a forecast, and not a safety, insurance, or preparedness rating. Open the calculator · Methodology

FEMA Declarations (1953–present) Moderate

11/30

64 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.7x state average)

NOAA Storm Events (2015–2025) Very High

22/25

19427 NOAA storm events in the 2015–2025 extract (1.8x median state)

NOAA Damage (2015–2025) Moderate

12/25

Recorded NOAA property+crop damage in the 2015–2025 extract (1.2x median state)

Hazard Diversity Very High

20/20

9 different disaster types declared in Pennsylvania

What does Pennsylvania's hazard record show?

Flood exposure & where to dig deeper

Flood exposure is quantified separately through the National Flood Insurance Program. Policyholders across 67Pennsylvania counties have filed 75,691 NFIP claims totaling $1.4B, or an average of $18.9K per claim. NFIP data captures only insured flood losses, so uninsured flood damage and storm-surge losses outside mapped high-risk zones remain invisible in this figure. The highest-Expected-Annual-Loss hazard across the state is Riverine Flooding, estimated at $2.7B annually. Drill into individual counties for localized risk, read FEMA's hazard-specific briefings, and review insurance and flood-zone designations, state-level averages can mask sharp county-to-county differences in exposure and resilience.

NOAA storm events & FEMA National Risk Index

NOAA's Storm Events Database adds the near-term severe-weather lens. Between 2015 and 2025, Pennsylvania recorded 19,427 individual storm events, causing 136 fatalities and 514 injuries, with combined property and crop damage estimated at $713.4M. The most frequent event types in the state are Thunderstorm Wind (9,976 events), Flash Flood (2,288 events), Winter Weather (1,670 events). Across the 67counties FEMA scores here, its National Risk Index flags 5 as high-risk, with an average county Risk Index score (FEMA's own formula, distinct from our Historical Activity tool below) of 67.4/100.

What this count is, and is not. Storm Events is a reported database: NOAA compiles it from National Weather Service offices, trained spotters, law enforcement, and the public. It is a record of what was observed and logged, not a complete census of severe weather. Densely populated areas report more events than sparsely populated ones with similar meteorological exposure, and detection has improved over time, so an event count is not a like-for-like measure of hazard between places or across decades. Damage figures are field estimates, not audited losses. See methodology.

FEMA disaster declarations

Pennsylvania (PA) has a moderate level of federal declaration activity, with 64 FEMA declaration records, including 54 Major Disaster declarations (DR). A DR may authorize Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, or both; those program approvals are not implied by the DR count. The dominant declaration type is Flood, followed by Severe Storm (17), Hurricane (9), Snowstorm (5). Declaration counts at the state level reflect the cumulative federal footprint: large multi-county events count once per state, but repeat hazard patterns across decades are visible in the breakdown below.

Disaster Types in Pennsylvania

Flood 26

Severe Storm 17

Hurricane 9

Snowstorm 5

Biological 2

Tornado 2

Tropical Storm 1

Severe Ice Storm 1

Drought 1

Storm Events by Type

NOAA storm event data for Pennsylvania (2015-2025).

Event Type	Events	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage
Thunderstorm Wind	9,976	18	114	$115.5M
Flash Flood	2,288	23	8	$463.2M
Winter Weather	1,670	23	268	$566.0K
Hail	1,400	0	0	$2.6M
Winter Storm	881	14	17	$2.9M
Flood	552	4	0	$15.0M
High Wind	323	2	17	$4.9M
Tornado	265	1	46	$45.6M
Heavy Snow	248	0	4	$1.1M
Dense Fog	225	0	1	$0
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill	219	2	0	$0
Strong Wind	218	6	1	$1.5M
Cold/Wind Chill	193	9	0	$250.0K
Heavy Rain	181	0	0	$0
Excessive Heat	149	15	7	$0
Lake-Effect Snow	143	0	3	$35.0M
Drought	128	0	0	$0
Lightning	89	7	20	$2.0M
Ice Storm	59	0	0	$50.0K
Heat	48	3	0	$0

Storm Events by Year

Year	Events	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage
2025	2,249	13	36	$12.0M
2024	1,981	4	30	$58.0M
2023	1,624	14	24	$27.2M
2022	1,527	10	54	$8.0M
2021	2,250	9	16	$394.5M
2020	1,978	10	27	$13.2M
2019	2,395	6	74	$31.5M
2018	1,556	5	16	$30.6M
2017	1,499	8	12	$45.7M
2016	898	34	90	$60.6M
2015	1,470	23	135	$20.5M

FEMA Disaster Declarations

How the 64 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.

Major Disaster 54 declarations (84%) Emergency 10 declarations (16%)

Download all 64 declarations as CSV . Source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.

64 unique disaster declarations in Pennsylvania.

DR#	Title	Type	Incident	Date
4815	TROPICAL STORM DEBBY	DR	Tropical Storm	2024-09-11
4618	REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IDA	DR	Hurricane	2021-09-10
4506	COVID-19 PANDEMIC	DR	Biological	2020-03-30
3441	COVID-19	EM	Biological	2020-03-13
4408	SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING	DR	Severe Storm	2018-11-27
4292	SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING	DR	Flood	2016-12-02
4267	SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM	DR	Snowstorm	2016-03-23
3367	SEVERE WINTER STORM	EM	Severe Ice Storm	2014-02-06
4149	SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING	DR	Severe Storm	2013-10-01
4099	HURRICANE SANDY	DR	Hurricane	2013-01-10
3356	HURRICANE SANDY	EM	Hurricane	2012-10-29
4030	TROPICAL STORM LEE	DR	Flood	2011-09-12
3340	REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM LEE	EM	Flood	2011-09-08
4025	HURRICANE IRENE	DR	Hurricane	2011-09-03
3339	HURRICANE IRENE	EM	Hurricane	2011-08-29
4003	SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING	DR	Severe Storm	2011-07-13
1898	SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND SNOWSTORMS	DR	Snowstorm	2010-04-16
1684	SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING	DR	Severe Storm	2007-02-23
1649	SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES	DR	Severe Storm	2006-06-30
3235	HURRICANE KATRINA	EM	Hurricane	2005-09-10
1587	SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING	DR	Severe Storm	2005-04-14
1555	SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING ASSOCIATED WITH TROPICAL DEPRESSION FRANCES	DR	Severe Storm	2004-09-19
1557	TROPICAL DEPRESSION IVAN	DR	Hurricane	2004-09-19
1538	SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING	DR	Severe Storm	2004-08-06
1497	TROPICAL STORMS HENRI AND ISABEL AND RELATED SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING	DR	Severe Storm	2003-09-26
1485	SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING	DR	Severe Storm	2003-08-23
3180	SNOW	EM	Severe Storm	2003-03-14
1383	TROPICAL STORM ALLISON	DR	Severe Storm	2001-06-21
1298	TROPICAL DEPRESSION DENNIS PA	DR	Flood	1999-09-22
1294	HURRICANE FLOYD MAJOR DISASTER DECLARATIONS	DR	Hurricane	1999-09-18
1289	PA - FLOODING 8/20/99	DR	Severe Storm	1999-09-01
1219	SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES,AND FLOODING	DR	Severe Storm	1998-06-08
1150	SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS, HIGH WINDS,RAIN, FLOODING	DR	Flood	1996-12-23
1138	FLOODING ASSOCIATED WITH TROPICAL DEPRESSION FRAN	DR	Flood	1996-09-13
1130	SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND TORNADOES	DR	Flood	1996-07-26
1120	FLOODING, SEVERE STORMS	DR	Flood	1996-06-18
1093	SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING	DR	Flood	1996-01-21
1085	BLIZZARD OF 96	DR	Snowstorm	1996-01-13
1015	SEVERE WINTER STORMS	DR	Severe Storm	1994-03-10
3105	SEVERE SNOWFALL & WINTER STORM	EM	Snowstorm	1993-03-16
766	SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING	DR	Flood	1986-06-05
754	SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING	DR	Flood	1985-11-09
745	HURRICANE GLORIA	DR	Hurricane	1985-10-08
737	SEVERE STORMS, HIGH WINDS & TORNADOES	DR	Tornado	1985-06-03
721	SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING	DR	Flood	1984-08-27
641	SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING	DR	Flood	1981-06-15
629	SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING	DR	Flood	1980-08-19
3081	SEVERE STORMS & TORNADOES	EM	Tornado	1980-06-13
537	SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING	DR	Flood	1977-07-21
3026	SNOWSTORMS	EM	Snowstorm	1977-01-29

Showing 50 of 64 declarations.

FEMA National Risk Index

Composite natural hazard risk scores for Pennsylvania counties based on FEMA's National Risk Index.

Avg County Risk Score

67.4/100

High Risk Counties

of 67 counties

Top Hazard by EAL

Riverine Flooding

$2.7B annual loss est.

Top 5 Hazards by Expected Annual Loss

Riverine Flooding

$2.7B EAL

Heat Wave

$364.8M EAL

Cold Wave

$255.6M EAL

Hurricane

$170.3M EAL

Tornado

$152.8M EAL

Source: FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) EAL = Expected Annual Loss. Data: hazards.fema.gov/nri

NFIP Flood Insurance Claims

National Flood Insurance Program claims across Pennsylvania from FEMA NFIP data.

Total Claims

75,691

Total Paid

$1.4B

Avg Per Claim

$18.9K

Counties With Claims

Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data

Counties in Pennsylvania

67 counties with FEMA disaster data.

#	County	Disasters	Share	Major	Top Hazard	Latest
1	Montgomery County	29	45.3%	21	Hurricane	2021
2	Wyoming County	27	42.2%	21	Severe Storm	2024
3	Bucks County	27	42.2%	20	Hurricane	2021
4	Chester County	26	40.6%	18	Hurricane	2021
5	Wayne County	25	39.1%	19	Hurricane	2024
6	Philadelphia County	25	39.1%	17	Hurricane	2021
7	Sullivan County	25	39.1%	19	Severe Storm	2024
8	Northampton County	24	37.5%	17	Hurricane	2021
9	Delaware County	24	37.5%	16	Hurricane	2021
10	Schuylkill County	24	37.5%	17	Flood	2021
11	Susquehanna County	24	37.5%	19	Severe Storm	2024
12	Berks County	23	35.9%	17	Severe Storm	2020
13	Luzerne County	23	35.9%	16	Hurricane	2021
14	Lackawanna County	22	34.4%	17	Severe Storm	2020
15	Dauphin County	22	34.4%	16	Flood	2021
16	Lancaster County	22	34.4%	15	Flood	2020
17	Bradford County	21	32.8%	16	Severe Storm	2020
18	Somerset County	21	32.8%	14	Flood	2020
19	York County	21	32.8%	14	Flood	2021
20	Bedford County	21	32.8%	15	Flood	2021
21	Lycoming County	21	32.8%	15	Flood	2024
22	Monroe County	21	32.8%	15	Flood	2020
23	Columbia County	20	31.3%	14	Flood	2020
24	Tioga County	20	31.3%	14	Flood	2024
25	Adams County	20	31.3%	14	Flood	2020
26	Westmoreland County	20	31.3%	13	Flood	2020
27	Juniata County	20	31.3%	14	Flood	2020
28	Franklin County	20	31.3%	14	Flood	2020
29	Perry County	20	31.3%	14	Flood	2020
30	Cumberland County	19	29.7%	13	Flood	2020
31	Lebanon County	19	29.7%	13	Flood	2020
32	Northumberland County	19	29.7%	13	Flood	2020
33	Huntingdon County	18	28.1%	12	Flood	2021
34	Fayette County	18	28.1%	12	Snowstorm	2020
35	Union County	18	28.1%	12	Flood	2024
36	Allegheny County	18	28.1%	13	Flood	2020
37	Carbon County	18	28.1%	11	Severe Storm	2020
38	Blair County	18	28.1%	12	Flood	2020
39	Cambria County	18	28.1%	11	Flood	2024
40	Indiana County	18	28.1%	12	Flood	2024
41	Pike County	18	28.1%	13	Hurricane	2020
42	Fulton County	17	26.6%	11	Hurricane	2021
43	Snyder County	17	26.6%	11	Flood	2020
44	Clearfield County	17	26.6%	12	Flood	2024
45	Montour County	17	26.6%	11	Flood	2020
46	Lehigh County	17	26.6%	10	Hurricane	2020
47	Armstrong County	17	26.6%	12	Flood	2020
48	Mifflin County	17	26.6%	11	Flood	2020
49	Beaver County	15	23.4%	10	Severe Storm	2020
50	Centre County	15	23.4%	10	Flood	2020
51	Venango County	15	23.4%	10	Flood	2020
52	Greene County	15	23.4%	10	Flood	2020
53	Clinton County	15	23.4%	9	Flood	2020
54	Crawford County	15	23.4%	10	Flood	2020
55	Potter County	14	21.9%	9	Hurricane	2024
56	Washington County	14	21.9%	8	Severe Storm	2020
57	Clarion County	14	21.9%	9	Flood	2020
58	Jefferson County	14	21.9%	9	Flood	2020
59	Mercer County	13	20.3%	8	Hurricane	2020
60	McKean County	13	20.3%	9	Flood	2020
61	Forest County	12	18.8%	8	Hurricane	2020
62	Lawrence County	12	18.8%	7	Severe Storm	2020
63	Erie County	11	17.2%	6	Hurricane	2020
64	Butler County	11	17.2%	7	Hurricane	2020
65	Cameron County	11	17.2%	7	Hurricane	2024
66	Warren County	10	15.6%	6	Hurricane	2020
67	Elk County	10	15.6%	6	Hurricane	2024

Highest-risk counties by FEMA National Risk Index

Declaration counts above measure past federal action; FEMA's NRI is a composite of Expected Annual Loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience. By that separate measure the highest-risk counties in Pennsylvania are Philadelphia (99.6), Allegheny (98.1), Montgomery (96.8), Lancaster (95.0), Bucks (94.8). Compare any county's recorded history with the Historical Activity tool.

All 67 counties in Pennsylvania are listed above.

Disaster Preparedness Guides

Learn more about natural disaster risk, preparedness, and data interpretation.

Preparing for Natural Disasters

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Hazard Risk by Region

How natural disaster risk varies across different US regions.

Climate Change & Disasters

How climate trends are changing the frequency and severity of natural disasters.

Frequently Asked Questions

What natural disasters affect Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania is affected by flood, severe storm, hurricane, snowstorm. Topping the list is Flood, based on 64 FEMA disaster declarations on record.

How many FEMA disaster declarations has Pennsylvania had?

Pennsylvania has received 64 FEMA disaster declarations, including 54 major disaster declarations. These declarations span multiple disaster types including Flood (26), Severe Storm (17), Hurricane (9).

What severe weather events are most common in Pennsylvania?

The most common severe weather events in Pennsylvania include thunderstorm wind (9,976 events), flash flood (2,288 events), winter weather (1,670 events). Between 2015 and 2025, NOAA recorded these events causing 136 fatalities and $713.4M in property and crop damage.

How active is Pennsylvania's federal disaster declaration record?

Pennsylvania has a moderate level of historical federal declaration activity, based on 64 FEMA declaration records. This band is not a future-risk forecast. Separately, NOAA storm events from 2015-2025 record 136 fatalities and 514 injuries. Combined NOAA-listed property and crop losses total $713.4M.

How many flood insurance claims has Pennsylvania had?

Pennsylvania has 75,691 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims with $1.4B total paid out. Claims average $18.9K, with 67 counties reporting flood insurance claims.

Which counties in Pennsylvania have the most disaster declarations?

Among 67 counties in Pennsylvania, those with the most FEMA declaration records include Montgomery (29 declarations), Wyoming (27 declarations), Bucks (27 declarations). Breaking the declarations down by county reveals patterns a statewide total can mask.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations, NOAA Storm Events Database (2015-2025) For informational purposes only

What this means for Pennsylvania

Montgomery alone accounts for 45% of Pennsylvania's FEMA disaster declarations, out of 67 counties tracked statewide.

The declaration record is uneven within the state: Montgomery and Wyoming carry the most FEMA declarations. Browse counties
See how Pennsylvania ranks against other states for disaster frequency and damage. State rankings
Learn what FEMA declarations, NRI risk scores, and damage figures do and don't tell you. Disaster-data guide

Historical declaration counts and damage totals describe past federal response, not a forecast. For current threats, follow the National Weather Service and local officials; in an emergency call 911.

PlainHazard derives this presentation from FEMA's Disaster Declarations Summaries. Its county comparison covers 3,266 U.S. counties and county equivalents in this database, refreshed as of 2026-08-03. Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Browse all → | Rankings →

Verify with FEMA → · Verify with FEMA NRI → · Verify with NOAA →

Every figure on PlainHazard is rendered directly from FEMA federal disaster data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or national statistics report, the data & editorial changelog, or report a data error.