1,600 flood insurance claims·$16.8M paid·8 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 Cumberland 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.
Cumberland County experiences a flood risk profile dominated by standard riverine floods and summer flash flooding. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 44 flood events and 38 flash flood events, alongside 1 tropical storm. Flash floods accounted for 2 deaths during this period.
Recent historical events illustrate these hazards. On September 1, 2021, the remnants of Hurricane Ida produced widespread heavy rainfall across Pennsylvania. Later, on June 30, 2025, a slow-moving warm front and moist, unstable environment generated multiple clusters of thunderstorms that produced flash flooding. Additionally, low pressure pushing up the Ohio Valley on January 9, 2024, brought 1.5 to 2.5 inches of rain across the Cumberland and Susquehanna valleys, resulting in flooding.
NFIP claim records demonstrate that properties located within Zone A have experienced the highest impact, accounting for 933 claims with an average payout of $17,662 and an average recorded water depth of 13 inches. Properties in Zone X, Zone X shaded, and Zone X unshaded have also recorded significant claims—178, 142, and 207 claims respectively—with average water depths ranging from 9 to 15 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents working in Zone A and various Zone X designations should pay the closest attention to flood risk, as these areas have documented consistent insurance claims and water inundation.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
27% of Cumberland County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
1,282 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 11 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 2011, with 274 claims and $5.9M paid, the year of Remnants Of Tropical Storm Lee and Tropical Storm Lee.
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.
11 NOAA storm reports from Cumberland County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Pennsylvania flood stories →
19 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 8 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding Associated With Tropical Depression Frances | Sep 8, 2004 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
83 since 1996: 38 flash floods and 44 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 30, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jan 9, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Sep 1, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 1, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 4, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 23, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 8, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 27, 2014 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 30, 2025. A slow-moving warm front in an extremely moist (PWAT values exceeding 2.00, values closer to 2.25 across the Lower Susquehanna Valley) and unstable environment allowed for multiple clusters of thunderstorms to begin to form during the late morning hours and continue through the late evening hours of June 30, 2025. A shortwave trough stationed across the region allowed for enhanced lift, with relatively weak shear…
Flood · Jan 9, 2024. Warm advection ahead of low pressure pushing up the Ohio Valley produced a 4 to 6 hour period of moderate to heavy snow across the southern Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania during the morning of January 9, 2024. As much as 12 inches of snowfall was observed atop the Allegheny Front in eastern Somerset and eastern Cambria counties, with localized snowfall rates of 2-3 inches per hour. This system also produced 1…
Flood · Sep 1, 2021. The remnants of Hurricane Ida produced widespread heavy rainfall across Pennsylvania. Additionally, thunderstorms were observed southeast Of I-81 and the PA Turnpike. One of these storms produced wind damage in Adams County.
Flash Flood · Sep 1, 2021. The remnants of Hurricane Ida produced widespread heavy rainfall across Pennsylvania. Additionally, thunderstorms were observed southeast Of I-81 and the PA Turnpike. One of these storms produced wind damage in Adams 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 Cumberland 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.