Natural hazards · Hawley

Hawley, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Hawley comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 2005. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Hawley?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Hawley to be higher than in 46% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding76%Cold waves8%Hurricanes6%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Hawley faces

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

Inland flooding

76% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 54% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 27 years in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce 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 Hawley flood?

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

4paid claims since 2005

$52Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

20052026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Ida: 1 claim, $3K

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

Insurance rates: Wayne County.

Disasters that hit Hawley

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HawleyDeclared for Wayne County only

2006

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides

37 households applied for aid $99K aid approved

2005

Severe Storms and Flooding

30 households applied for aid $39K aid approved

2004

Tropical Depression Ivan

45 households applied for aid $108K aid approved

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $326 aid approved

Wayne County has had 22 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.

Around Hawley

Hawley and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Hawleymostly inland floodingModerate

Palmyramostly inland floodingModerate

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