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Natural hazards · Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Pittsburgh comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 447 claims here since 1978. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Pittsburgh?

63
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Pittsburgh to be higher than in 63% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding88%Cold waves6%Everything else5%
By hazard

What Pittsburgh 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 86% of U.S. places
Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Cold waves

6% 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 Pittsburgh flood?

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

447paid claims since 1978
$9.1Mpaid to owners
53homes flooded more than once
19782026

Biggest named events

  • Tropical Storm Ivan: 97 claims, $3.3M
  • Not a named storm: 2 claims, $11K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (9) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Pittsburgh 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.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

58flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
Disasters that hit Pittsburgh

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PittsburghDeclared for Allegheny County only
2004

Tropical Depression Ivan

2,592 households applied for aid $7.2M aid approved
Allegheny County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
Around Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh and the towns around it

Baldwin: Very low, mostly inland floodingPenn Hills: Very low, mostly inland floodingRoss: Very low, mostly inland floodingGreen Tree: Very low, mostly inland floodingBaldwin: Very low, mostly inland floodingReserve: High, mostly inland floodingCrafton: Very low, mostly inland floodingIngram: High, mostly inland floodingWilkinsburg: Very low, mostly inland floodingWest Mifflin: Very low, mostly inland floodingMcKees Rocks: Very high, mostly inland floodingSwissvale: Very low, mostly inland floodingWhitehall: Very low, mostly inland floodingPleasant Hills: Very low, mostly inland floodingBrentwood: Very low, mostly inland floodingBethel Park: Very low, mostly inland floodingSouth Park: Low, mostly inland floodingPlum: Very low, mostly inland floodingMonroeville: Very low, mostly inland floodingVerona: High, mostly inland floodingOakmont: High, mostly inland floodingChurchill: Very low, mostly inland floodingBlawnox: Very high, mostly inland floodingO'Hara: Moderate, mostly inland floodingWilkins: Very low, mostly inland floodingBellevue: Moderate, mostly inland floodingShaler: Very low, mostly inland floodingMcCandless: Very low, mostly inland floodingOhio: Very low, mostly inland floodingScott: Very low, mostly inland floodingCastle Shannon: Low, mostly inland floodingMount Lebanon: Very low, mostly inland floodingMillvale: Very high, mostly inland floodingThornburg: Low, mostly inland floodingRosslyn Farms: Low, mostly inland floodingEdgewood: Very low, mostly inland floodingBraddock Hills: Very low, mostly inland floodingDravosburg: High, mostly inland floodingMunhall: Very low, mostly inland floodingDuquesne: Very low, mostly inland floodingGlassport: Very high, mostly inland floodingJefferson Hills: Low, mostly inland floodingWhitaker: Very low, mostly inland floodingMcKeesport: Moderate, mostly inland floodingBraddock: Moderate, mostly inland floodingClairton: Moderate, mostly inland floodingStowe: High, mostly inland floodingPittsburgh: High, mostly inland flooding PittsburghBaldwinPenn HillsRossGreen TreeBaldwinReserveCraftonIngramWilkinsburgWest MifflinMcKees RocksSwissvale
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
McKees Rocksmostly inland floodingVery high
Reservemostly inland floodingHigh
Pittsburghmostly inland floodingHigh
Ingrammostly inland floodingHigh
Baldwinmostly inland floodingVery low
Swissvalemostly inland floodingVery low
Craftonmostly inland floodingVery low
Rossmostly inland floodingVery low
Wilkinsburgmostly inland floodingVery low
Baldwinmostly inland floodingVery low
West Mifflinmostly inland floodingVery low
Penn Hillsmostly inland floodingVery low
Green Treemostly 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. Pittsburgh covers 128 census tracts, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Pittsburgh’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Pittsburgh. 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 Pittsburgh total about $123M 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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