Natural hazards · Pitcairn

Pitcairn, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Pitcairn comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 62 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 Pitcairn?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Pitcairn to be higher than in 66% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding88%Cold waves8%Everything else5%

By hazard

What Pitcairn faces

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

Inland flooding

88% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 38% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat 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 Pitcairn flood?

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

62paid claims since 1979

$649Kpaid to owners

2homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Ivan: 2 claims, $9K

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

Insurance rates: Allegheny County.

Disasters that hit Pitcairn

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PitcairnDeclared for Allegheny County only

2004

Tropical Depression Ivan

6 households applied for aid $6K aid approved

Allegheny County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe 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. Pitcairn covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Pitcairn’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Borough of Pitcairn. 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 Pitcairn total about $1.0M 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.