Natural hazards · Penn

Penn, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Penn comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2011.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Penn?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Penn to be higher than in 47% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding67%Hurricanes15%Everything else18%

By hazard

What Penn faces

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

Inland flooding

67% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 12 years in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce 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 Penn flood?

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

2paid claims since 2011

$51Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20112026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Lee: 1 claim, $14K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Penn 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.

Disasters that hit Penn

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into PennDeclared for Lancaster County only

Lancaster County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and winter storms.

Around Penn

Penn and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Manheimmostly inland floodingVery high

Pennmostly inland floodingModerate

Raphomostly inland floodingModerate

Manheimmostly inland floodingLow

Warwickmostly inland floodingLow

East Hempfieldmostly inland floodingLow

Cornwallmostly inland floodingLow

Elizabethmostly inland floodingLow

South Lebanonmostly inland floodingVery low

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. Penn covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Penn’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Penn. 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 Penn total about $3.4M 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.