1,185 flood insurance claims·$13.3M paid·10 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Bedford County, Pennsylvania. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Flash flooding from summer thunderstorms dominates the flood risk in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records show 39 flash flood events resulting in 2 deaths, alongside 19 general flood events and 1 tropical storm. Recent activity includes slow-moving showers and thunderstorms triggered by a warm front that caused flash flooding and closed roadways in June 2025, as well as heavy rainfall from supercell development ahead of a cold front in June 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that historical claims span multiple zones, with the highest concentration occurring in high-risk areas. Specifically, Zone A accounts for 736 claims with an average payout of $15,484 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Zone X accounts for 103 claims with an average payout of $13,478 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches, while properties with unknown zones account for 325 claims with an average payout of $6,842 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Homeowners in Zone A and Zone X, as well as properties with unmapped or unknown flood zones, should pay the most attention to this risk.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
3% of Bedford County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
757 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 5 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 1996, with 354 claims and $4.9M paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding and Flooding, Severe Storms.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
10 NOAA storm reports from Bedford County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Pennsylvania flood stories →
21 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 10 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Remnants Of Hurricane Ida | Aug 31, 2021 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 22, 2016 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Remnants Of Tropical Storm Lee | Sep 3, 2011 |
| Tropical Storm Lee | Sep 3, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms | Feb 5, 2010 |
| Hurricane Katrina | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Tropical Depression Ivan | Sep 17, 2004 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
59 since 1996: 39 flash floods and 19 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 17, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 14, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 13, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 13, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 9, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 20, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 28, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 4, 2016 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 17, 2025. A slow-moving surface warm front stationed across western Pennsylvania allowed for slow-moving showers and thunderstorms to form across southwestern Pennsylvania in an environment of anomalously moist air with long, skinny CAPE and enhanced low-level shear. Showers and thunderstorms across southwestern Pennsylvania initially formed during the early afternoon hours and continued into the evening hours, producing nu…
Flood · May 14, 2025. A deep stream of moisture was pulled northwestward from the Atlantic Ocean into the mountains of south-central Pennsylvania around an upper level low centered over the Ohio Valley during the afternoon and evening hours of May 13. 2025. This led to extensive flooding and flash flooding across Somerset County and southwestern Bedford County, and more sporadic flooding from the remainder of Bedford County eastward in…
Flood · May 13, 2025. A deep stream of moisture was pulled northwestward from the Atlantic Ocean into the mountains of south-central Pennsylvania around an upper level low centered over the Ohio Valley during the afternoon and evening hours of May 13. 2025. This led to extensive flooding and flash flooding across Somerset County and southwestern Bedford County, and more sporadic flooding from the remainder of Bedford County eastward in…
Flash Flood · May 13, 2025. A deep stream of moisture was pulled northwestward from the Atlantic Ocean into the mountains of south-central Pennsylvania around an upper level low centered over the Ohio Valley during the afternoon and evening hours of May 13. 2025. This led to extensive flooding and flash flooding across Somerset County and southwestern Bedford County, and more sporadic flooding from the remainder of Bedford County eastward in…
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Bedford County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.