Natural hazards · Cressona

Cressona, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cressona comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 9 claims here since 1982. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Cressona?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cressona to be higher than in 35% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding74%Hurricanes6%Cold waves5%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Cressona faces

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

Inland flooding

74% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 59% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 19 years in the area

Cold waves

5% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 39% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat 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 Cressona flood?

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

9paid claims since 1982

$47Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19822026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Lee: 1 claim, $6K

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

Insurance rates: Schuylkill County.

Disasters that hit Cressona

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CressonaDeclared for Schuylkill County only

2011

Tropical Storm Lee

3 households applied for aid $3K aid approved

2006

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides

33 households applied for aid $44K aid approved

2004

Tropical Depression Ivan

5 households applied for aid $8K aid approved

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

Around Cressona

Cressona and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Schuylkill Havenmostly inland floodingHigh

Cressonamostly inland floodingLow

North Manheimmostly inland floodingLow

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