Natural hazards · St. Marys

St. Marys, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in St. Marys comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 24 claims here since 1978. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is St. Marys?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in St. Marys to be higher than in 10% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding68%Lightning10%Cold waves6%Strong wind6%Everything else10%

By hazard

What St. Marys faces

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

Inland flooding

68% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 28% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Lightning

10% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 50% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtTsunamisVolcanic 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 St. Marys flood?

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

24paid claims since 1978

$423Kpaid to owners

3homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Ivan: 1 claim, $16K

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. St. Marys 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.

Disasters that hit St. Marys

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in St. Marys itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the City of St. Marys.

Brought FEMA money into St. MarysDeclared for Elk County only

2004

Tropical Depression Ivan

5 households applied for aid $7K aid approved

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

Around St. Marys

St. Marys and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Shippenmostly inland floodingVery high

Jaymostly inland floodingVery high

Jonesmostly inland floodingHigh

Ridgwaymostly inland floodingHigh

Foxmostly inland floodingModerate

St. Marysmostly 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. St. Marys covers 3 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to St. Marys’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of St. Marys. 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 St. Marys total about $3.0M 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.