Natural hazards · Philadelphia

Philadelphia, MO natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Philadelphia comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community.

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 64% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding50%Cold waves11%Heat waves10%Strong wind8%Drought8%Tornadoes6%Everything else8%

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.

Inland flooding

50% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

11% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Heat waves

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Strong wind

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Drought

8% of expected damage

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% 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: Marion County.

Disasters that hit Philadelphia

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Marion County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Philadelphia itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into PhiladelphiaDeclared for Marion County only

Marion County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and ice storms.

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 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.