Natural hazards · Philadelphia

Philadelphia, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Philadelphia comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate 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?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Philadelphia to be higher than in 53% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding82%Cold waves5%Everything else13%

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

82% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 51% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 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: Jefferson 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 Village of Philadelphia.

Brought FEMA money into PhiladelphiaDeclared for Jefferson County only

1999

Snow

$1K to the Village of Philadelphia for repairs

Jefferson County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often winter storms and hurricanes.

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 Village 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.