Natural hazards · Penbrook

Penbrook, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Penbrook comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 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 Penbrook?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Penbrook to be higher than in 11% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding49%Hurricanes10%Earthquakes9%Tornadoes8%Heat waves7%Strong wind6%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Penbrook faces

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

Inland flooding

49% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 19% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

10% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 14 years in the area

Earthquakes

9% of expected damage

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

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

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

Heat waves

7% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 13% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 46% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesLightning

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 Penbrook flood?

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

3paid claims since 1979

$9Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Not a named storm: 1 claim, $163

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Penbrook 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 Penbrook

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PenbrookDeclared for Dauphin County only

2011

Tropical Storm Lee

6 households applied for aid $3K aid approved

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

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. Penbrook covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Penbrook’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Borough of Penbrook. 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 Penbrook total about $443K 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.