Natural hazards · Ulster

Ulster, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ulster comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 35 claims here since 1978. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ulster?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ulster to be higher than in 57% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding85%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Ulster faces

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

Inland flooding

85% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningAvalanches

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 Ulster flood?

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

35paid claims since 1978

$617Kpaid to owners

4homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Lee: 5 claims, $188K
Tropical Storm Ivan: 1 claim, $78K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Bradford County.

Disasters that hit Ulster

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Ulster itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the Township of Ulster.

Brought FEMA money into UlsterDeclared for Bradford County only

2011

Tropical Storm Lee

67 households applied for aid $311K aid approved

2006

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides

2 households applied for aid

2005

Severe Storms and Flooding

8 households applied for aid $5K aid approved

2004

Tropical Depression Ivan

5 households applied for aid $10K aid approved

Bradford County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Ulster

Ulster and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Sheshequinmostly inland floodingVery high

Burlingtonmostly inland floodingHigh

Athensmostly inland floodingHigh

Ulstermostly inland floodingModerate

Smithfieldmostly inland floodingModerate

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. Ulster 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 Ulster’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Ulster. 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.