Natural hazards · Buffington

Buffington, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Buffington comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1996.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Buffington?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Buffington to be higher than in 8% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding70%Cold waves8%Lightning5%Everything else17%

By hazard

What Buffington faces

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

Inland flooding

70% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 26% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 48% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lightning

5% of expected damage

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

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong wind

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 Buffington flood?

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

2paid claims since 1996

$19Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19962026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Indiana County.

Disasters that hit Buffington

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into BuffingtonDeclared for Indiana County only

Indiana County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and hurricanes.

Around Buffington

Buffington and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Brush Valleymostly inland floodingLow

East Wheatfieldmostly inland floodingVery low

Buffingtonmostly inland floodingVery low

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