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Natural hazards · Bell

Bell, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bell comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 16 claims here since 1996.

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

How exposed is Bell?

60
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bell to be higher than in 60% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding81%Everything else19%
By hazard

What Bell faces

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

Inland flooding

81% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtTsunamisVolcanic 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 Bell flood?

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

16paid claims since 1996
$239Kpaid to owners
2homes flooded more than once
19962026

Biggest named events

  • Hurricane Debby: 1 claim, $49K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Bell isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Clearfield County.
Disasters that hit Bell

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into BellDeclared for Clearfield County only
Clearfield County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.
Around Bell

Bell and the towns around it

Burnside: Moderate, mostly inland floodingGreenwood: High, mostly inland floodingNewburg: Moderate, mostly inland floodingBrady: High, mostly inland floodingGaskill: Moderate, mostly inland floodingBanks: Low, mostly inland floodingFerguson: High, mostly inland floodingBurnside: Moderate, mostly inland floodingNew Washington: Moderate, mostly inland floodingWestover: Moderate, mostly inland floodingMontgomery: Moderate, mostly inland floodingChest: Moderate, mostly inland floodingCherry Tree: Moderate, mostly inland floodingSusquehanna: Very low, mostly inland floodingPenn: Low, mostly inland floodingSandy: Very low, mostly inland floodingUnion: High, mostly inland floodingBloom: Low, mostly inland floodingHenderson: Moderate, mostly inland floodingBig Run: Moderate, mostly inland floodingBell: Low, mostly inland floodingGlen Campbell: Low, mostly inland floodingCanoe: Low, mostly inland floodingKnox: Low, mostly inland floodingJordan: Low, mostly inland floodingPike: Low, mostly inland floodingBell: High, mostly inland flooding BellBurnsideGreenwoodNewburgBradyGaskillBanksFerguson
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Bradymostly inland floodingHigh
Bellmostly inland floodingHigh
Greenwoodmostly inland floodingHigh
Fergusonmostly inland floodingHigh
Gaskillmostly inland floodingModerate
Burnsidemostly inland floodingModerate
Newburgmostly inland floodingModerate
Banksmostly inland floodingLow
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. Bell 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 Bell’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Bell. 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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