Natural hazards · Worcester

Worcester, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Worcester comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 4 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 Worcester?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Worcester to be higher than in 16% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding64%Cold waves10%Heat waves7%Tornadoes6%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Worcester 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 35% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Cold waves

10% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 26% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Heat waves

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 53% of U.S. places

Recorded about 11 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

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

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Worcester flood?

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

4paid claims since 1978

$129Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Hurricane Isaias: 1 claim, $58K
Hurricane Ida: 1 claim, $70K

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. Worcester isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Montgomery County.

Disasters that hit Worcester

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WorcesterDeclared for Montgomery County only

2021

Remnants of Hurricane Ida

1 household applied for aid

Montgomery County has had 24 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and floods.

Around Worcester

Worcester and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Towamencinmostly inland floodingLow

Whitpainmostly inland floodingLow

East Norritonmostly inland floodingLow

Upper Gwyneddmostly inland floodingLow

Worcestermostly inland floodingVery low

Lower Providencemostly inland floodingVery low

Skippackmostly 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. Worcester covers 2 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Worcester’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Worcester. 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 Worcester total about $3.7M 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.