Natural hazards · Cleveland

Cleveland, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cleveland comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 32 claims here since 1979.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Cleveland?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding77%Everything else23%

By hazard

What Cleveland faces

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

Inland flooding

77% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% 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 Cleveland flood?

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

32paid claims since 1979

$644Kpaid to owners

5homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Lee: 12 claims, $444K
Tropical Storm Ivan: 1 claim, $958
Hurricane Ida: 1 claim, $11K

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. Cleveland 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.

Disasters that hit Cleveland

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into ClevelandDeclared for Columbia County only

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

Around Cleveland

Cleveland and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Clevelandmostly inland floodingModerate

Franklinmostly inland floodingModerate

Locustmostly inland floodingModerate

Conynghammostly inland floodingModerate

Coalmostly inland floodingModerate

Ralphomostly inland floodingModerate

Mount Carmelmostly 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. Cleveland 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 Cleveland’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Cleveland. 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.