Natural hazards · Philadelphia

Philadelphia, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Philadelphia comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Philadelphia?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Philadelphia to be higher than in 67% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and inland flooding.

Cold waves39%Inland flooding18%Drought18%Strong wind9%Heat waves6%Tornadoes6%Everything else5%

By hazard

What Philadelphia faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Cold waves

39% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 57% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

18% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Drought

18% of expected damage

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Strong wind

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Heat waves

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Philadelphia flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Philadelphia.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Philadelphia isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Cass County.

Disasters that hit Philadelphia

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Philadelphia itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the Township of Philadelphia.

Brought FEMA money into PhiladelphiaDeclared for Cass County only

2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

$32K to the Township of Philadelphia for repairs

Cass County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Philadelphia

Philadelphia and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Virginiamostly cold wavesHigh

Philadelphiamostly cold wavesHigh

Panther Creekmostly cold wavesHigh

Ashlandmostly cold wavesHigh

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Philadelphia is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Philadelphia’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Philadelphia. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); 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. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.