Salem’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Salem comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 47 claims here since 1979.
What stands out about Salem’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
The storms Salem remembers
None of the disasters declared for Luzerne County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Salem itself in FEMA’s records.
- 201114 flood claims paidThe most in any one year on record
- 200611 flood claims paidOne of the three biggest flood years on record
Luzerne County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.
Old photos of Salem after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Salem archive →How exposed is Salem?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 59% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.
Rated higher than 1,800 of the 2,558 Pennsylvania towns we cover.
Salem covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
What Salem faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Cold waves
Does Salem flood? Sometimes: 47 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Salem, from FEMA’s records.
- Tropical Storm Lee14 claims · $725K
- Tropical Storm Ivan6 claims · $206K
- The Not a named storm1 claim · $2K
Salem isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Luzerne County.Get ready for what Salem actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
- Know where your water shutoff is.
- Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
- Keep a shovel, a blanket and snacks in the car.
- Clear snow from furnace and dryer vents.
- Check on older neighbors when the power goes out.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Salem and its neighbors
Salem ranks 2nd calmest of 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Rating | Mostly | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shickshinny | High | inland flooding | 401 |
| Union | High | inland flooding | 11 |
| Briar Creek | High | inland flooding | 9 |
| Conyngham | High | inland flooding | 93 |
| Nescopeck | High | inland flooding | 73 |
| Nescopeck | High | inland flooding | 16 |
| Salem | Moderate | inland flooding | 47 |
| Huntington | Moderate | inland flooding | 0 |
Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Most disasters here begin in August–October
The month each of Luzerne County’s 19 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Salem’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Salem.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels. Across Salem, expected losses total about $1.6M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Salem.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.