Natural hazards · Sandy

Sandy, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sandy comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 49 claims here since 1979.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Sandy?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sandy to be higher than in 7% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding67%Strong wind8%Cold waves7%Tornadoes5%Lightning5%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Sandy faces

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

Inland flooding

67% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 22% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Strong wind

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 49% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

5% of expected damage

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

Lightning

5% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 33% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslides

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 flood?

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

49paid claims since 1979

$682Kpaid to owners

5homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Ivan: 6 claims, $45K
Hurricane Irene: 1 claim, $3K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Clearfield County.

Disasters that hit Sandy

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Clearfield County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Sandy itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into SandyDeclared for Clearfield County only

Clearfield County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.

Around Sandy

Sandy and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Bradymostly inland floodingHigh

Hustonmostly inland floodingHigh

Unionmostly inland floodingHigh

Snydermostly inland floodingHigh

Hortonmostly inland floodingModerate

Winslowmostly inland floodingLow

Falls Creekmostly inland floodingVery low

Washingtonmostly inland floodingVery low

Sandymostly 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. Sandy covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Sandy’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Sandy. 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 Sandy total about $2.3M 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.