Natural hazards · Brooklyn

Brooklyn, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Brooklyn comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 1996. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Brooklyn?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding72%Hurricanes8%Tornadoes8%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Brooklyn faces

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

Inland flooding

72% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 27 years in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 45% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 29 years in the area

Lower here

HailIce 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 Brooklyn flood?

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

6paid claims since 1996

$95Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19962026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Lee: 1 claim, $8K

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. Brooklyn isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Susquehanna County.

Disasters that hit Brooklyn

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BrooklynDeclared for Susquehanna County only

2011

Tropical Storm Lee

1 household applied for aid $326 aid approved

2006

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides

8 households applied for aid $24K aid approved

2004

Tropical Depression Ivan

2 households applied for aid $7K aid approved

Susquehanna County has had 21 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.

Around Brooklyn

Brooklyn and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Lenoxmostly inland floodingModerate

Harfordmostly inland floodingLow

New Milfordmostly inland floodingLow

Brooklynmostly inland floodingLow

Lathropmostly inland floodingLow

Dimockmostly inland floodingLow

Bridgewatermostly 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. Brooklyn 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 Brooklyn’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Brooklyn. 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.