Natural hazards · Ridgway

Ridgway, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ridgway comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 151 claims here since 1981. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ridgway?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ridgway to be higher than in 82% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding89%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Ridgway faces

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

Inland flooding

89% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat 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 Ridgway flood?

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

151paid claims since 1981

$6.0Mpaid to owners

19homes flooded more than once

19812026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Ivan: 2 claims, $7K
Hurricane Floyd: 1 claim, $8K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (3) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Elk County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Ridgway

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RidgwayDeclared for Elk County only

2004

Tropical Depression Ivan

8 households applied for aid $8K aid approved

Elk County has had 8 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.

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. Ridgway covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Ridgway’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Borough of Ridgway. 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 Ridgway total about $2.8M 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.