Natural hazards · Howard

Howard, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Howard comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Howard?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Howard to be higher than in 66% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding87%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Howard 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 87% 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 Howard flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Howard.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Howard isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Centre County.

Disasters that hit Howard

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HowardDeclared for Centre County only

2004

Tropical Depression Ivan

25 households applied for aid $18K aid approved

Centre County has had 13 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

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