Dallas is calmer than 98% of U.S. communities
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Dallas comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 8 claims here since 1996. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Dallas’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
How exposed is Dallas?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 2% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.
Calmer than 2,504 of the 2,558 Pennsylvania towns we cover.
Dallas covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
What Dallas faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Cold waves
Tornadoes
Hurricanes
Heat waves
Does Dallas flood? Rarely: 8 flood claims since 1996
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Dallas, from FEMA’s records.
- Tropical Storm Ivan1 claim · $29K
Dallas isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Luzerne County.5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Dallas
Disasters that paid out in Dallas itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Borough of Dallas) and its biggest flood years.
- 2011Tropical Storm Lee59 households applied for aid$99K aid approved
- 2011Hurricane Irene57 households applied for aid$76K aid approved
- 2006Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides182 households applied for aid$193K aid approved
- 2005Severe Storms and Flooding5 households applied for aid$937 aid approved
- 2004Tropical Depression Ivan26 households applied for aid$53K aid approved
Luzerne County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.
Old photos of Dallas after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Dallas archive →Get ready for what Dallas actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
- Know where your water shutoff is.
- Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- 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.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Most disasters here begin in August–October
The month each of Luzerne County’s 19 declared disasters began, since 1953.
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 Dallas’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Borough of Dallas.
- 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 Dallas, expected losses total about $439K a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Dallas.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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.