Natural hazards · Gaines

Gaines, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Gaines comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 19 claims here since 1979. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Gaines?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Gaines to be higher than in 80% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding90%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Gaines faces

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

Inland flooding

90% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat 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 Gaines flood?

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

19paid claims since 1979

$404Kpaid to owners

3homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Ivan: 4 claims, $121K
Hurricane Debby: 1 claim, $134K

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

Insurance rates: Tioga County.

Disasters that hit Gaines

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into GainesDeclared for Tioga County only

2024

Tropical Storm Debby

11 households applied for aid $36K aid approved

2004

Tropical Depression Ivan

2 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $924 aid approved

Tioga County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Gaines

Gaines and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Pikemostly inland floodingVery high

Gainesmostly inland floodingVery high

Shippenmostly inland floodingVery high

Elkmostly inland floodingVery high

Clymermostly inland floodingHigh

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