Natural hazards · Lehighton

Lehighton, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lehighton comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1983. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Lehighton?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lehighton to be higher than in 37% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding53%Cold waves16%Heat waves9%Strong wind6%Lightning6%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Lehighton faces

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

Inland flooding

53% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 61% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

16% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 47% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Heat waves

9% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 9% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lightning

6% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 45% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesAvalanches

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 Lehighton flood?

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

2paid claims since 1983

$4Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19832026

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Carbon County.

Disasters that hit Lehighton

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into LehightonDeclared for Carbon County only

2006

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides

55 households applied for aid $116K aid approved

2004

Tropical Depression Ivan

8 households applied for aid $23K aid approved

Carbon County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.

Around Lehighton

Lehighton and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Franklinmostly inland floodingModerate

Weissportmostly inland floodingModerate

Lehightonmostly inland floodingLow

Mahoningmostly 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. Lehighton covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Lehighton’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Borough of Lehighton. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Lehighton total about $1.6M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.