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Natural hazards in Cetronia · FEMA

Cetronia is calmer than 76% of U.S. communities

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cetronia comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 40 claims here since 1978.

24Low riskLowerHigherExpected storm and flood damage, vs. U.S. communities
Overall risk
Low
higher than 24% of U.S. places
Main hazard
Inland flooding
49% of expected damage
Flood claims
40
paid since 1978 · $755K
Disasters paid out here
0
of 14 declared for Lehigh County
Expected yearly loss
$3.3M
buildings, people and crops

What stands out about Cetronia’s weather risks

Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · Expected damage

How exposed is Cetronia?

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 24% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Where Cetronia sits
Cetronia
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Calmer than 1,763 of the 2,558 Pennsylvania towns we cover.

Cetronia covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

What drives the damage
Inland flooding49%Cold waves24%Earthquakes6%Hurricanes6%Heat waves6%Everything else10%
By hazard

What Cetronia faces

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

Inland flooding

49%of expected damage
Below average · higher than 41% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Cold waves

24%of expected damage
Below average · higher than 33% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Earthquakes

6%of expected damage
Above average · higher than 64% of U.S. places

Hurricanes

6%of expected damage
Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 17 years in the area

Heat waves

6%of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 15% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area
Lower here
🌪️ Tornadoes🧊 Hail🧊 Ice storms❄️ Winter weather🔥 Wildfire⛰️ Landslides💨 Strong wind⚡ Lightning🌵 Drought
Not a risk here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Cetronia flood? Sometimes: 40 flood claims since 1978

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

Paid flood claims, by year
1978: 5 claims1979: 4 claims1980: 0 claims1981: 0 claims1982: 12 claims1983: 0 claims1984: 3 claims1985: 2 claims1986: 1 claim1987: 4 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 0 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 1 claim1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 1 claim1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 1 claim2003: 0 claims2004: 1 claim2005: 2 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 3 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims 197819791982
19782026
Biggest named events
  • The Not a named storm4 claims · $24K
  • Hurricane Isaias3 claims · $491K
  • Hurricane Gloria1 claim · $5K
40
paid claims since 1978
$755K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$19K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Lehigh County.
Storms remembered

The storms Cetronia remembers

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

  1. 198212 flood claims paidThe most in any one year on record
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in CetroniaLehigh County only

Lehigh County has had 14 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and winter storms.

Were you here?

Old photos of Cetronia after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Cetronia archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Cetronia actually faces

A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
  • Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
  • Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Cold snaps
  • Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
  • Know where your water shutoff is.
  • Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Earthquakes
  • Drop, cover and hold on.
  • Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
  • Know how to shut off the gas.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
  • Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
  • Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Next door

Cetronia and its neighbors

Cetronia has the lowest rating of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
TownRatingMostlyFlood claims
AllentownModerateinland flooding310
South WhitehallLowinland flooding55
CetroniaLowinland flooding40

Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.

Storm season

Most disasters here begin in August–September

The month each of Lehigh County’s 14 declared disasters began, since 1953.

4J
1F
1M
A
M
1J
J
3A
3S
1O
N
D
HurricanesWinter stormsFloodsSevere stormsDroughts
How to read this page

What these numbers can and can’t tell you

  • An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
  • Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Cetronia’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Cetronia.
  • It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels. Across Cetronia, expected losses total about $3.3M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Cetronia.

Town Square →
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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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.

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