Natural hazards · Sandy Lake

Sandy Lake, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sandy Lake comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Sandy Lake?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sandy Lake to be higher than in 74% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding92%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Sandy Lake faces

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

Inland flooding

92% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year 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 Sandy Lake flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Sandy Lake.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Mercer County.

Disasters that hit Sandy Lake

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Sandy LakeDeclared for Mercer County only

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $1K aid approved

Mercer County has had 11 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. Sandy Lake is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Sandy Lake’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Borough of Sandy Lake. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

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.