Natural hazards · Washington

Washington, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Washington comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Washington?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Washington to be higher than in 12% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding64%Lightning9%Cold waves8%Hurricanes5%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Washington faces

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

Inland flooding

64% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 30% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lightning

9% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 42% of U.S. places

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 28 years in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong wind

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 Washington flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Washington.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Jefferson County.

Disasters that hit Washington

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into WashingtonDeclared for Jefferson County only

Jefferson County has had 12 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and hurricanes.

Around Washington

Washington and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Snydermostly inland floodingHigh

Winslowmostly inland floodingLow

Pine Creekmostly inland floodingLow

Washingtonmostly inland floodingVery low

Warsawmostly inland floodingVery low

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