330 flood insurance claims·$1.7M paid·5 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 Crawford 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 and spring snowmelt dominates the flood character of Crawford County, PA. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 63 flash flood events resulting in 1 death, alongside 15 standard flood events. Historical events demonstrate how weather patterns trigger these incidents. For example, flooding occurred throughout much of the county from February 17th through 19th, 2022, due to above-normal temperatures melting a snow pack combined with 1 to 2 inches of rainfall, causing flooding along French Creek and Cussewago Creek that was exacerbated by ice jamming. Additionally, saturated soils and slow-moving thunderstorms dropped over 2 inches of rain in a one-to-two-hour period over far southeast Crawford County on July 17th, 2021.
Properties located near rivers and streams, as well as those mapped in FEMA flood zones, should pay the most attention to these risks. NFIP claims data shows that Zone A properties experienced the highest impact with 191 claims, averaging a $7,275 payout and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X recorded 37 claims with an average payout of $9,744 and an average recorded water depth of 12 inches, while Zone UNKNOWN recorded 70 claims averaging a $2,584 payout with an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 19 claims averaging a $6,564 payout with an average recorded water depth of 2 inches, and Zone X_SHADED recorded 13 claims averaging a $9,058 payout with an average recorded water depth of 3 inches.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
14% of Crawford County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
223 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 7 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 2004, with 47 claims and $492,975 paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding Associated With Tropical Depression Frances and Tropical Depression Ivan.
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.
19 NOAA storm reports from Crawford County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Pennsylvania flood stories →
15 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 26, 2013 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Hurricane Katrina | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Tropical Depression Ivan | Sep 17, 2004 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding Associated With Tropical Depression Frances | Sep 8, 2004 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jul 21, 2003 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | Jul 19, 1996 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jan 19, 1996 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
78 since 1996: 63 flash floods and 15 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Feb 17, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 17, 2021 | $200,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 11, 2021 | $120,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 19, 2019 | $1.2M |
| Flash Flood | Jul 5, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Jan 12, 2018 | $1.3M |
| Flash Flood | Jun 1, 2018 | $100,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 28, 2017 | $225,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Feb 17, 2022. Flooding was observed throughout much of Crawford County during the February 17th-19th, 2022 timeframe. This was due to above normal temperatures causing steady melt of a snow pack containing 2 to upwards of 3 of water equivalency up through the daytime hours of the 17th, and rainfall amounts of 1-2 on top of the melting snow. Flooding of French Creek and tributaries was observed, including Cussewago Creek, which…
Flash Flood · Jul 17, 2021. A warm, unstable airmass has been in place over the region for much of the week leading up to July 17th, 2021, with several rounds of rainfall during the week leading to saturated soils across northwest PA. Thunderstorms developed ahead of an eastward moving cold front, with low echo centroid storms providing efficient, heavy rainfall. Two storms tracked over far southeast Crawford county in PA, dropping over 2 of…
Flash Flood · Jul 11, 2021. Low pressure was slowly moving northeast from IN through northern OH during the day of July 11th, 2021, lifting a warm front northward towards northwest PA. Showers and thunderstorms moved northeast across Erie County, PA for much of the daytime hours ahead of this front. An low echo centroid storm with intense rainfall rates around 1.5 per hour produce efficient heavy rainfall over an area with saturated soils fr…
Flash Flood · Jul 19, 2019. A backdoor frontal boundary was moving slowly northeast to southeast across northwest Pennsylvania during the evening of July 19th. A line severe thunderstorms blew down trees across rural Crawford County.
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 Crawford 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.