Natural hazards · Ambler

Ambler, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ambler comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 182 claims here since 1979. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ambler?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ambler to be higher than in 22% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding65%Cold waves11%Heat waves8%Everything else16%

By hazard

What Ambler faces

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

Inland flooding

65% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 43% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

11% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 25% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Heat waves

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 53% of U.S. places

Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Ambler flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Ambler, from FEMA’s records.

182paid claims since 1979

$4.5Mpaid to owners

33homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Lee: 41 claims, $1.5M
Tropical Storm Allison: 20 claims, $216K
Hurricane Irene: 14 claims, $843K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (11) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Montgomery County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

12flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Ambler

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into AmblerDeclared for Montgomery County only

2021

Remnants of Hurricane Ida

592 households applied for aid $829K aid approved

2011

Tropical Storm Lee

186 households applied for aid $429K aid approved

2011

Hurricane Irene

95 households applied for aid $207K aid approved

2006

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides

3 households applied for aid $7K aid approved

2004

Tropical Depression Ivan

50 households applied for aid $89K aid approved

2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

4 households applied for aid $8K aid approved

Montgomery County has had 24 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.

Around Ambler

Ambler and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Whitpainmostly inland floodingLow

Amblermostly inland floodingLow

Lower Gwyneddmostly inland floodingLow

Upper Dublinmostly inland floodingVery low

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. Ambler covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

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

FEMA’s expected losses across Ambler total about $2.1M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.