Natural hazards · Great Bend

Great Bend, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Great Bend comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 14 claims here since 1979. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Great Bend?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Great Bend to be higher than in 81% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding87%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Great Bend faces

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

Inland flooding

87% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times 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 Great Bend flood?

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

14paid claims since 1979

$868Kpaid to owners

2homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Lee: 5 claims, $163K

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

Insurance rates: Susquehanna County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

3flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Great Bend

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Great BendDeclared for Susquehanna County only

2011

Tropical Storm Lee

41 households applied for aid $115K aid approved

2006

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides

108 households applied for aid $338K aid approved

2005

Severe Storms and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $227 aid approved

2004

Tropical Depression Ivan

14 households applied for aid $28K aid approved

Susquehanna County has had 21 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.

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. Great Bend 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 Great Bend’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Borough of Great Bend. 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.