TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
ForwardGood evening
Natural hazards · Forward

Forward, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Forward comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 160 claims here since 1978.

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

How exposed is Forward?

62
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Forward to be higher than in 62% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding88%Cold waves6%Everything else5%
By hazard

What Forward faces

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

Inland flooding

88% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places
Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 38% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Forward flood?

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

160paid claims since 1978
$2.3Mpaid to owners
21homes flooded more than once
19782026

Biggest named events

  • Tropical Storm Ivan: 14 claims, $570K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (9) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Forward isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Allegheny County.
Disasters that hit Forward

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into ForwardDeclared for Allegheny County only
Allegheny County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around Forward

Forward and the towns around it

Elizabeth: Moderate, mostly inland floodingElizabeth: Very high, mostly inland floodingUnion: Low, mostly inland floodingMonongahela: Very high, mostly inland floodingCarroll: Low, mostly inland floodingJefferson Hills: Low, mostly inland floodingNew Eagle: Very high, mostly inland floodingRostraver: Low, mostly inland floodingLincoln: Moderate, mostly inland floodingSewickley: Moderate, mostly inland floodingSouth Versailles: Moderate, mostly inland floodingSutersville: High, mostly inland floodingVersailles: High, mostly inland floodingNorth Huntingdon: Very low, mostly inland floodingWhite Oak: Low, mostly inland floodingMcKeesport: Moderate, mostly inland floodingWest Elizabeth: High, mostly inland floodingNottingham: Low, mostly inland floodingPeters: Very low, mostly inland floodingSouth Park: Low, mostly inland floodingDonora: Moderate, mostly inland floodingFallowfield: Low, mostly inland floodingMonessen: Moderate, mostly inland floodingClairton: Moderate, mostly inland floodingPleasant Hills: Very low, mostly inland floodingWest Mifflin: Very low, mostly inland floodingSouth Huntingdon: Low, mostly inland floodingWashington: High, mostly inland floodingWest Newton: High, mostly inland floodingNorth Belle Vernon: Moderate, mostly inland floodingPerry: Moderate, mostly inland floodingSpeers: Very high, mostly inland floodingCharleroi: High, mostly inland floodingSmithton: Moderate, mostly inland floodingForward: High, mostly inland flooding ForwardElizabethElizabethUnionMonongahelaCarrollJefferson HillsNew EagleRostraver
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Elizabethmostly inland floodingVery high
Monongahelamostly inland floodingVery high
New Eaglemostly inland floodingVery high
Forwardmostly inland floodingHigh
Elizabethmostly inland floodingModerate
Unionmostly inland floodingLow
Carrollmostly inland floodingLow
Rostravermostly inland floodingLow
Jefferson Hillsmostly 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. Forward covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Forward’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Forward. 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 Forward total about $1.3M 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.

The porch light’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Forward, PAAllegheny CountyView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Forward is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
Open detailed map