Natural hazards · Ligonier

Ligonier, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ligonier comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 43 claims here since 1979. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ligonier?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ligonier to be higher than in 82% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding96%Everything else4%

By hazard

What Ligonier faces

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

Inland flooding

96% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat 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 Ligonier flood?

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

43paid claims since 1979

$482Kpaid to owners

7homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Ivan: 12 claims, $116K
Hurricane Sandy: 1 claim, $10K

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

Insurance rates: Westmoreland County.

Disasters that hit Ligonier

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into LigonierDeclared for Westmoreland County only

2004

Tropical Depression Ivan

25 households applied for aid $68K aid approved

Westmoreland County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and winter 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. Ligonier covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Ligonier’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Borough of Ligonier. 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 Ligonier total about $1.1M 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.