Natural hazards · Silver Spring

Silver Spring, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Silver Spring comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 43 claims here since 1979.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Silver Spring?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Silver Spring to be higher than in 46% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding77%Hurricanes7%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Silver Spring faces

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

Inland flooding

77% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 14 years in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Silver Spring flood?

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

43paid claims since 1979

$304Kpaid to owners

5homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Ivan: 13 claims, $177K
Not a named storm: 3 claims, $5K
Tropical Storm Lee: 2 claims, $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. Silver Spring isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Cumberland County.

Disasters that hit Silver Spring

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into Silver SpringDeclared for Cumberland County only

Cumberland County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and winter storms.

Around Silver Spring

Silver Spring and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Ryemostly inland floodingHigh

Silver Springmostly inland floodingModerate

Hampdenmostly inland floodingLow

Monroemostly inland floodingLow

South Middletonmostly inland floodingLow

Mechanicsburgmostly inland floodingVery low

Middlesexmostly 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. Silver Spring covers 4 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Silver Spring’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Silver Spring. 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 Silver Spring total about $6.5M 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.