Dallastown is calmer than 92% of U.S. communities
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Dallastown comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 1978. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Dallastown’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
How exposed is Dallastown?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 8% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.
Calmer than 2,325 of the 2,558 Pennsylvania towns we cover.
Dallastown covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Does Dallastown flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Dallastown, from FEMA’s records.
Dallastown isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: York County.What Dallastown faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Hurricanes
Heat waves
Cold waves
Earthquakes
Strong wind
2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Dallastown
Disasters that paid out in Dallastown itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Borough of Dallastown) and its biggest flood years.
- 2021Remnants of Hurricane Ida51 households applied for aid$19K aid approved
- 2011Tropical Storm Lee69 households applied for aid$132K aid approved
York County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.
Old photos of Dallastown after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Dallastown archive →Get ready for what Dallastown 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.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- Know the nearest cooling center or air-conditioned library.
- Drink water before you feel thirsty.
- Check on neighbors who live alone.
- 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 York County’s 18 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 Dallastown’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Borough of Dallastown.
- 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 Dallastown, expected losses total about $621K a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Dallastown.
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.