Natural hazards · Summit

Summit, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Summit comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 60 claims here since 1978.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Summit?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Summit to be higher than in 44% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding89%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Summit faces

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

Inland flooding

89% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 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 Summit flood?

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

60paid claims since 1978

$524Kpaid to owners

9homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Ivan: 5 claims, $46K
March 2010 Nor'easter: 3 claims, $15K

Homes that flooded again and again

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Butler County.

Disasters that hit Summit

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into SummitDeclared for Butler County only

Butler County has had 9 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.

Around Summit

Summit and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Summitmostly inland floodingModerate

Clearfieldmostly inland floodingModerate

Oaklandmostly inland floodingLow

Jeffersonmostly inland floodingVery low

Butlermostly 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. Summit covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Summit’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Summit. 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 Summit total about $1.6M 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.