Natural hazards · Athens

Athens, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Athens comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 72 claims here since 1979. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Athens?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Athens to be higher than in 79% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding88%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Athens faces

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

Inland flooding

88% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat 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 Athens flood?

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

72paid claims since 1979

$6.5Mpaid to owners

4homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Lee: 58 claims, $6.4M
Torrential rain: 1 claim, $3K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Bradford County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Athens

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into AthensDeclared for Bradford County only

2011

Tropical Storm Lee

540 households applied for aid $4.5M aid approved

2006

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides

15 households applied for aid $22K aid approved

2005

Severe Storms and Flooding

19 households applied for aid $27K aid approved

2004

Tropical Depression Ivan

5 households applied for aid $14K aid approved

Bradford County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Athens

Athens and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Athensmostly inland floodingHigh

Sayremostly inland floodingModerate

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. Athens covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Athens’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Borough of Athens. 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 Athens total about $1.5M 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.