Natural hazards · Lower Paxton

Lower Paxton, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lower Paxton comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 35 claims here since 1978.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Lower Paxton?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lower Paxton to be higher than in 33% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding68%Hurricanes8%Tornadoes5%Everything else19%

By hazard

What Lower Paxton faces

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

Inland flooding

68% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 54% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 14 years in the area

Tornadoes

5% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 48% of U.S. places

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Lower Paxton flood?

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

35paid claims since 1978

$191Kpaid to owners

3homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Lee: 3 claims, $3K
Tropical Storm Ivan: 2 claims, $22K
Hurricane Ida: 2 claims, $17K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Dauphin County.

Disasters that hit Lower Paxton

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Dauphin County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Lower Paxton itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into Lower PaxtonDeclared for Dauphin County only

Dauphin County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and hurricanes.

Around Lower Paxton

Lower Paxton and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Middle Paxtonmostly inland floodingHigh

South Hanovermostly inland floodingModerate

Lower Paxtonmostly inland floodingLow

West Hanovermostly inland floodingLow

Swataramostly 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. Lower Paxton covers 9 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Lower Paxton’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Lower Paxton. 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 Lower Paxton total about $13.4M 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.