Natural hazards · Catawissa

Catawissa, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Catawissa comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 54 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 Catawissa?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Catawissa to be higher than in 82% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding86%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Catawissa faces

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

Inland flooding

86% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% 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 Catawissa flood?

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

54paid claims since 1979

$1.5Mpaid to owners

10homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Lee: 14 claims, $776K
Tropical Storm Ivan: 6 claims, $177K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (5) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Columbia County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

19flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Catawissa

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CatawissaDeclared for Columbia County only

2011

Tropical Storm Lee

176 households applied for aid $438K aid approved

2006

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides

132 households applied for aid $274K aid approved

2005

Severe Storms and Flooding

12 households applied for aid $9K aid approved

2004

Tropical Depression Ivan

24 households applied for aid $83K aid approved

Columbia County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Catawissa

Catawissa and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Catawissamostly inland floodingVery high

Montourmostly 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. Catawissa 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 Catawissa’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Borough of Catawissa. 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.