Natural hazards · Bolivar

Bolivar, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bolivar comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1978. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bolivar?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bolivar to be higher than in 58% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding92%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Bolivar faces

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

Inland flooding

92% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times 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 Bolivar flood?

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

2paid claims since 1978

$3Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19782026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Westmoreland County.

Disasters that hit Bolivar

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BolivarDeclared for Westmoreland County only

2004

Tropical Depression Ivan

1 household applied for aid

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

Around Bolivar

Bolivar and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Bolivarmostly inland floodingModerate

Fairfieldmostly inland floodingModerate

West Wheatfieldmostly 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. Bolivar 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 Bolivar’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Borough of Bolivar. 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.