Natural hazards · Emmaus

Emmaus, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Emmaus comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 12 claims here since 1987. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Emmaus?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Emmaus to be higher than in 26% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding48%Cold waves26%Heat waves6%Hurricanes5%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Emmaus faces

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

Inland flooding

48% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 45% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Cold waves

26% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 33% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year 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

Hurricanes

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 17 years in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Emmaus flood?

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

12paid claims since 1987

$114Kpaid to owners

2homes flooded more than once

19872026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Isaias: 3 claims, $37K
Hurricane Ida: 1 claim, $22K
Tropical Storm Ivan: 1 claim, $7K

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. Emmaus 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.

Disasters that hit Emmaus

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into EmmausDeclared for Lehigh County only

2011

Hurricane Irene

54 households applied for aid $42K aid approved

2004

Tropical Depression Ivan

10 households applied for aid $34K aid approved

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

Around Emmaus

Emmaus and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Allentownmostly inland floodingModerate

Lower Macungiemostly inland floodingLow

Salisburymostly inland floodingLow

Emmausmostly inland floodingLow

Upper Milfordmostly 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. Emmaus covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Emmaus’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Borough of Emmaus. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Emmaus total about $3.6M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.