Alburtis is calmer than 78% of U.S. communities
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Alburtis comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2019. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Alburtis’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
How exposed is Alburtis?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 22% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.
Calmer than 1,828 of the 2,558 Pennsylvania towns we cover.
Alburtis covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Does Alburtis flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 2019
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Alburtis, from FEMA’s records.
Alburtis isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Lehigh County.What Alburtis faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Cold waves
Hurricanes
2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Alburtis
Disasters that paid out in Alburtis itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Borough of Alburtis) and its biggest flood years.
- 2011Hurricane Irene1 household applied for aid
- 2004Tropical Depression Ivan13 households applied for aid$30K aid approved
Lehigh County has had 14 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and winter storms.
Old photos of Alburtis after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Alburtis archive →Get ready for what Alburtis actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
- Know where your water shutoff is.
- Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Most disasters here begin in August–September
The month each of Lehigh County’s 14 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Alburtis’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Borough of Alburtis.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels. Across Alburtis, expected losses total about $3.1M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Alburtis.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.