Natural hazards · La Plume

La Plume, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in La Plume comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 2003. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is La Plume?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in La Plume to be higher than in 51% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding81%Cold waves7%Everything else12%

By hazard

What La Plume faces

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

Inland flooding

81% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 48% 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 La Plume flood?

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

4paid claims since 2003

$118Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20032026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Lackawanna County.

Disasters that hit La Plume

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into La PlumeDeclared for Lackawanna County only

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid

Lackawanna County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around La Plume

La Plume and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

La Plumemostly inland floodingModerate

Daltonmostly inland floodingModerate

West Abingtonmostly inland floodingModerate

North Abingtonmostly inland floodingModerate

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