Leola’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Leola comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 8 claims here since 1978.
How exposed is Leola?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 34% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and hurricanes.
Calmer than 1,436 of the 2,558 Pennsylvania towns we cover.
Leola covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
What Leola faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Hurricanes
Earthquakes
Does Leola flood? Rarely: 8 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Leola, from FEMA’s records.
- Tropical Storm Lee2 claims · $23K
- The Not a named storm1 claim · $3K
- Hurricane Ida1 claim · $23K
Leola isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Lancaster County.Federal disasters declared here
None of the disasters declared for Lancaster County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Leola itself in FEMA’s records.
Lancaster County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and winter storms.
Get ready for what Leola actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Leola and its neighbors
How storm and flood risk compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Rating | Mostly | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leola | Low | inland flooding | 8 |
| Upper Leacock Township | Low | inland flooding | 17 |
Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Most disasters here begin in January–February
The month each of Lancaster County’s 19 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Leola’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Leola.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels. Across Leola, expected losses total about $1.8M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Leola.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.